Thanks for joining us.
I'm David Molko and we begin
with a disturbing attack at a
Portland middle school a father
wants other parents to know about.
He says he's speaking out about
what two students did to his son
because he believes the district
isn't taking it seriously.
Alma McCarty takes us through what the
school is calling a hate based incident.
I was flabbergasted. I was outraged.
I was angry. I couldn't even
believe what I was hearing.
That's Raheem Alexander's.
Reaction after his eighth grade son told
him what happened in the hallway of
West Sylvan Middle School last month,
he just left his classroom to get some water.
When Alexander says he was
accosted by two students,
he threw him up against the wall,
bound his hands behind his back
and said they were, you know,
treating him like George.
Floyd proceeded to throw him
on the ground face first,
with his hands bound behind his back,
tied with the lanyard.
Put their knee in his back and said
that they were going to turn off
their body cameras and they were
going to wait 20 seconds to to
simulate the death of George Floyd.
Horrified by what he heard,
Alexander wanted to make sure the
school was up front about the attack.
He met with school officials the
next week about issuing a statement
to all parents in the district.
We want to make sure that you put
the details of what happened to our
son inside of this letter that get
drafted and make sure that it goes out.
To CPS because it's not just
about our son, it's about others.
We want to make sure that this
doesn't happen to someone else,
but that message wasn't
sent out district wide.
The middle school principal sent
a letter to West Sylvan families
only on January 25th writing.
She was deeply saddened to share that
the school experienced a horrific
hate based incident the week prior,
noting that they were limited
in what they could say since it
was an ongoing investigation.
Involving students,
Alexander believes this statement
didn't properly address the seriousness
of what happened to his son.
We can't throw it under the rug,
which is what they did.
They failed to put it out.
They failed to get in front of it.
Now, Alexander says he's hoping to shed
light on the attack as his 13 year old
continues to process what happened.
My son has to see these images in
in videos of things that happen in
our country too young. Black men.
And for it to be reenacted to him inside of
our school during school hours.
Is is deeply troubling
PSN KGWN statement this afternoon writing
the district stands firmly against
any hateful acts in our schools and
said once made aware of the incident,
PPS followed district discipline protocols
and provided support to those impacted.
This story was first reported
in The Oregonian.
A district source told them the
two students responsible for
the attack were expelled. David
Alma McCarty in The Newsroom tonight.
Thank you, alma.
Got a major update today on a voter
approved gun control measure after
the Oregon Supreme Court declined
the state's request to allow it
to go into effect right away.
We are talking about measure 114,
which voters narrowly passed in November.
In part it requires gun safety
courses and permits for anyone buying
a firearm and would ban magazines
that hold more than 10 rounds.
Now there are federal and
state cases pending,
but the one in question here is a lawsuit
in Harney County which led a judge
to temporarily block the measure now.
State Supreme Court basically said that
process needs to play out at the trial
court level before it will hear the case.
Oregon's attorney general
said she was disappointed.
Here's reaction from Measure 114 proponents.
We are totally confident that Measure 114
is constitutional, both in the state
of Oregon and the US Constitution,
and we just know that it's going
to have to go through the process
that's going to have to go through.
Meanwhile, gun rights groups like the
Oregon Firearms Federation called the
Move a quote massive win is unclear
how long the process is going to
take to play out in Harney County
Court in our homeless crisis tonight.
It is a site we seem to see far too often.
A camp up in flames and in Portland,
neighbors and business owners along
a stretch of northeast Sandy Blvd.
Say as this one has grown in size,
so is the danger.
And after the fire this week,
the people who call this place home told
our Blair best they're willing to move.
They're just hoping for a better option.
The sections of outer northeast Sandy Blvd.
are often scenes of crime or homeless camps.
I see drugs being bought and paid for,
hookers, you name it, see it all.
And 95th Street is no exception.
All night long, stuff is
happening around here all night.
Gradually it just started
building more and more.
For 38 years, Vivian Lannigan has
owned the restaurant. Jim Dandy,
well, back in 2013 is when I started.
Logging the problems that I've
been having and I've got volumes.
She now closes early because of the
camps and says some homeless people
have even set up tents on her property
and I don't feel that it's safe
for my employees or my customers.
We try to keep our property nice.
And everything them they
they they feed the rats.
Cindy knew is a manager at the Econo Lodge.
She didn't want to be shown on camera,
but says the homeless camps
are turning customers away and
now they want their money back because
they just don't feel comfortable here.
She's called 911 numerous times.
Everything came to a head a few days ago
when this camp caught on fire. Everybody
out here? They are.
They just stood by and watched.
Neighbors called it a toxic mess.
Rose called it her home
she spent. Charge a big hole.
Was the first time I had open four years.
What did it? Everything.
Everything. Everything's gone.
It literally living under a cardboard box,
including her wedding dress.
It was perfect. She was saving it for
when her partner gets out of prison.
I put it in a storage bag and
kept it for when he got out.
That's gone. Before the fire,
the city posted this site for removal,
but she says no one offered her a safe
place to go.
Would they give us a things
like sleeping bags or ****?
They're giving us things
that they think we need.
Instead of what we actually did,
I just feel like the way the system is now,
it's just not working for these people.
And I have empathy for them.
You know, they just,
they just don't have the resources.
Leaving everyone desperate
for change. It's scary.
Ohh and I'm. I'm angry. I'm angry that.
Our. Politicians and our leaders
have let this happen to Portland.
Many of the people who work and live nearby,
including those living at this homeless camp,
say that they're behind Mayor Ted
Wheeler's designated camping sites.
They think it would be a good
idea and might actually work.
Now, we're told that the mayor will be
announcing the locations of those sites soon.
Yet his office has been saying that
for months now in Northeast Portland.
Blair best KGW news,
let's get you caught up on
tonight's other headlines.
Well, another day,
another big fentanyl seizure as
the Multnomah County Sheriff's
Office found 3000 pills plus meth,
a knife and more than $1100 in cash.
Two people were also taken into
custody during the traffic stop
in Wood Village on Wednesday.
Deputies in Clark County reported
that they seized 13,000 fentanyl
pills during a drug bust there.
Gresham police have a 16 year old in
custody accused of robbing a bank.
Police say surveillance video shows
the suspect getting into an Uber.
Tuesday afternoon,
after leaving the Wells Fargo
on northeast Roberts Ave.
witnesses helped with a suspect description,
which led to a search of his home,
where detectives say they found
cash in his bedroom and backpack.
And the Oregon Health Authority says
it is seeing a significant decrease in
hospitalizations for respiratory viruses.
Doctors say we are nearing
the end of RSV season.
Flu cases saw a slight increase recently,
but they're now expected to fall.
And more good news, COVID hospitalizations.
Have been dropping since December
and are now flattening out.
If this continues,
OHA says they may soon consider lifting
mask requirements for healthcare settings.