Oregon Witnessed a homeless man beating a naked woman today

[ilikegunspdx]

This is not clickbait, just want to share my experience today. Here are my personal takeaways, or beliefs, from the event and no one else has to agree with me on anything. Someone else may feel totally different. I just want to share my experience.

1) Portland homelessness is really out of control. More on that later

2) Men who attack women are cowards, plain and simple.

3) A gun may not needed to stop an attack and should be used only if needed to stop the attack.

4) Having a legal concealed carry weapon gives tremendous piece of mind that it is there if needed.

5) If at all possible, concealed weapons holders should to have protection with them all the time.

So what happened is I was hiking at a Portland public nature area. I'd rather not name it but it close to I205 and is "off the beaten path" from a well used park.

I ran into a local government employee (not a Leo) and was shooting the breeze and talking about how much trash and homeless debris was at this beautiful natural area. He said there used to be a camp at a location on the site but they cleaned them all out. I mentioned to him I just saw a guy and camp at that same spot. We walked over to take a look and we saw the attack. I thought he was beating on a golden retriever or something (beige/blonde) color but he recognized her right away as a naked woman.

The guy was really beating on her. All I could think about was stopping it immediately. I yelled at him and he immediately backed off.

We were in a cliff about 100 feet high and the victim was on the bottom. We were nowhere near a trail to get down there but I knew where the trail was. It would have taken me a long time to get down there.

However I did have a pistol caliber carbine with optic and shoulder brace. At that range there is absolutely no question it could easily stop the attack if needed -assuming the victim was not near/at risk.

edit/clarification: The firearm is legally a pistol, but many people refer to these kinds of firearms as PCCs. The term "PCC" may be technically incorrect but it helps clarify that it's not a pistol such as a 1911 or smaller.

Fortunately It was not needed at all in this situation. If the man had a gun or knife or didn't back away then perhaps things would have been different but that is hypothetical.

The government employee called 911. We waited there as the woman got to relative safety and a couple times the guy started going towards her again. A few shouted choice words checked him both times. Finally the guy left the area and we kept an eye on him for when the police arrived.

I had to go pick up family so after waiting about 35 min I had to go and left my number with the gov employee who stayed to wait for te Police. Not sure what happened after that.

I'll try to write more about what I learned about the homeless situation later as I'm out of time now. Just wanted to share this experience. Portland sure has changed and I encourage all you legal concealed handgun permit holders to try to carry when u can.

Thx!

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[x2ndxall]

My takeaway:

You go for walks in Portland with a carbine?

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

i agree with always carrying protection. that being said, and this is my personal opinion, as unfortunate as what you witnessed was, had it been me i would have yelled at the guy too and called the police.

if the guy had a knife or gun its really a tough call...it is NOT my job to "play police"

since the guy was not a direct threat to me (being on a cliff 100ft above him) i could have taken care of me and left the situation.

if he was threatening her life with a weapon or whatever and i did eliminate the threat theres always the aftermath of what i'd have to deal with afterwards legally and the thought in the back of my mind of what if the lady turns against me and presses charges on me... i think you did the right thing and stopped it from getting worse.

i know i sound like a jerk only wanting to take care of myself but, this day in age being a good samaritan doesnt always end up good for the samaritan

 

[cigars]

Good job. Whatever her story may be, you stopped it from getting worse. Kudos man.

 

[djharteloo]

The way that city is I don't blame you for walking around with something more effective then just a cc sized pistol.

 

[coyotecaller]

Hats off to being well equipped in a sketchy area. Maybe it's better to be a little overly prepped then God forbid to have to find out that my usual 5 shot .38 J-frame was not enough.

 

[Geardo]

A) carbine in a backpack with folding brace I am guessing? bubblegum I know that is legal but would be sketchy if stopped.

B) I was walking in downtown portland on Saturday, having to keep the dog from stepping in both human and animal crap every block, it is just disgusting and scary. Every corner seemed to have drugged up washed out addicts, I had to keep the dog from biting them and the myself in between them and my wife. I had a p2000 and 42 rds of ammo and still felt vulnerable. Just such a shame. Even a few years ago the same spot wasn't quite as bad .The decline is accelerating.

 

[Member 34319]

Sadly the perp will likely be charged, then released with pending court date he won't go to. Also probably has priors.

Good ole Portland.

As for your numbered items, if a woman decides to try and pull something on me, I'll treat her just as I would anyone else.

For all we know she could have gone all homeless apebubblegum on the guy. I would not be surprised. Probably over sex money or drugs.

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

I think you handled it well. You were able to verbally intervene and stop the threat.
As citizens who happen to carry we are NOT tasked with acting in a law enforcement capacity. Unfortunately we have to weigh the risk of intervening in third party domestic violence situations.
IMHO You did good.

 

[DuneHopper]

I was first in Portland in 1991, the area was not bad at all. I didn't have an Oregon CC, as was living outta state the time.
But felt safe. I was up in Portland at a Disturbed concert in 2016. And in the scope of just three blocks, I saw people shooting up, two people being arrested and a fight all withing in shouting distance. We had over 30 rounds between us both and I was not comfortable. That was just two years ago, was up one more time and actually didn't stop at a couple lights just cause how sketchy the corner crawlers were. Portland has changed allot since Brown started throwing money up there, and stripping rights.

 

[P7M13]

Kudos to you both for speaking out.
Not saying you were at Mary Young, but I've seen some very sketchy folk there when I lived just down the street.
On my way to the east side today, the tent city that is directly beneath the Morrison Bridge seems to have grown eight times in size. And it looked like a dump.
Ever since the synagogue in Pittsburgh, I carry *every* day, everywhere it is allowed.

You did good.

I was first in Portland in 1991, the area was not bad at all. I didn't have an Oregon CC, as was living outta state the time.
But felt safe.

Dunno where you were. Back in '91, the areas in Portland that I knew had lots of gunplay, regularly. In 2009 & 2010 I lived by Tillamook & Grand, and it was still a 5hithole. Though prostitution and dealing could be seen from my LR window in the house we were rebuilding, compared to Detroit or parts of Salem, it was pretty tame.
The homeless I see in Beaverton are in RVs or cars. No tents (yet).

Stay safe.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

My takeaway:

You go for walks in Portland with a carbine?

Haha not normally. I was heading out of town and stopped there on a whim as I was always curious about it. Pcc was only gun I had with me.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

i agree with always carrying protection. that being said, and this is my personal opinion, as unfortunate as what you witnessed was, had it been me i would have yelled at the guy too and called the police.

if the guy had a knife or gun its really a tough call...it is NOT my job to "play police"

since the guy was not a direct threat to me (being on a cliff 100ft above him) i could have taken care of me and left the situation.

if he was threatening her life with a weapon or whatever and i did eliminate the threat theres always the aftermath of what i'd have to deal with afterwards legally and the thought in the back of my mind of what if the lady turns against me and presses charges on me... i think you did the right thing and stopped it from getting worse.

i know i sound like a jerk only wanting to take care of myself but, this day in age being a good samaritan doesnt always end up good for the samaritan

Totally agree.

Also I think we have to keep in mind that often we don't know the dynamics of the situation. If this was like a patty Hurst thing and the woman was yelling for help or if it was a child I would have had a much different reaction. But in this case it's hard to tell what is going on and all I was interested in was stopping the attack. Then the police can figure out what the situation is etc. i totally agree it's not our job to "play police".

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Good job. Whatever her story may be, you stopped it from getting worse. Kudos man.

Thanks. I appreciate that!

 

[TapRackNGo]

In Portland, you would have been raked over the coals for carrying that. Your carry weapon, forum user name, gun crazed lunatic is how you would be portrayed in court. My first priority is to come home every night. If there's one thing I've learned in over 150hrs of professional training, it's avoidance. If you feel you need to carry something like that to hike, find a new spot. In Portland my friend, that's just going to add fuel to the fire.

Just because you can carry that, doesn't mean you should. In a liberal state, behind enemy lines, you are damn lucky you didn't act. You did a good thing yelling to stop the attack. But, no junky or homeless person is worth my freedom, sleepless nights or monitary damages. If you don't have professional training, you should find a good school. One that explains all sides of surviving an encounter. Surviving the attack is one thing, surviving the courts is another.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Hats off to being well equipped in a sketchy area. Maybe it's better to be a little overly prepped then God forbid to have to find out that my usual 5 shot .38 J-frame was not enough.

Agree. I do remember thinking that would not be a difficult shot at all with the Pcc.

If I had my sub compact size 9mm pistol that I normally carry that would be a very hard shot if I had to take it. Probably would have to go to the trail and go down the cliff try to close the distance or something.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

A) carbine in a backpack with folding brace I am guessing? bubblegum I know that is legal but would be sketchy if stopped.

B) I was walking in downtown portland on Saturday, having to keep the dog from stepping in both human and animal crap every block, it is just disgusting and scary. Every corner seemed to have drugged up washed out addicts, I had to keep the dog from biting them and the myself in between them and my wife. I had a p2000 and 42 rds of ammo and still felt vulnerable. Just such a shame. Even a few years ago the same spot wasn't quite as bad .The decline is accelerating.

Exactly. In a backpack, Short barrel. Folding pistol brace

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Sadly the perp will likely be charged, then released with pending court date he won't go to. Also probably has priors.

Good ole Portland.

As for your numbered items, if a woman decides to try and pull something on me, I'll treat her just as I would anyone else.

For all we know she could have gone all homeless apebubblegum on the guy. I would not be surprised. Probably over sex money or drugs.

Right. Often we never really know the whole situation. If someone is breaking into your house or threatening deadly force on your family etc then that is clear cut. But observing others, especially homeless, leaves a lot of guesswork imo.

 

[Arlington2018]

I get down to Portland about 4-5 times per year, and lately I have been struck by how the homeless problem there is catching up to downtown Seattle where I work. I don't have an Oregon carry permit, so I just trust in the good nature of my fellow man.

 

[DuneHopper]

Dunno where you were. Back in '91, the areas in Portland that I knew had lots of gunplay, regularly. In 2009 & 2010 I lived by Tillamook & Grand, and it was still a 5hithole. Though prostitution and dealing could be seen from my LR window in the house we were rebuilding, compared to Detroit or parts of Salem, it was pretty tame.
The homeless I see in Beaverton are in RVs or cars. No tents (yet).
Stay safe.

I was allot younger back then, I also lived smack in the middle of a Latina gang area for a few years prior located
just houses down from me. Maybe why it didn't shock me much. I was also full of piss and vinegar too, used to go to DownTown, Oakland at night back then, so maybe was used to that side of things, having been out there as well a short time, but got a job and worked myself right back up.