A shooting involving four minors on Saturday, Oct. 7, left a 17-year-old female with a gunshot wound to her face.
According to Hermiston police, officers responded to reports of shots fired at 11:50 p.m. in the area of Northeast Fourth Street and East Elm Avenue. After collecting evidence of shell casings found at the scene, officers were notified of an injured person being transported to the hospital, police said.
Officers found the minor had sustained a gunshot wound to the cheek area and was a passenger in a vehicle that was reported fleeing the scene earlier, according to police.
Police reported she was later flown to a Portland hospital to have surgery to remove a bullet.
The vehicle was later located by police and discovered it was occupied by a 16-year-old male driver, a 16-year-old male passenger and a 15-year-old female passenger. Police noted the two males have been involved in several other incidents this year.
Two parked vehicles and two residences were reported to have been struck during the shooting by persons in a dark-colored sedan.
“Because of the number of incidents this community has been subjected to in a relatively short period of time by a small group of reckless criminals, I have already reached out to a couple of community groups and leaders asking for assistance,” Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said. “We appreciate the assistance we received from other area agencies as this incident demanded numerous resources to collect evidence in more than one location.”
The investigation of the incident is still ongoing.
