March 24, 2021
Page 2
Covid-19
Food Box
Giveaway
The Portland Observer is
joining the chief executive offi-
cer of Straightway Services and
On the Move Ministries to help
people in need during the coro-
navirus pandemic by hosting a
drive-thru food box giveaway
this Saturday, March 27 from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking
lot of the Portland Observer, lo-
cated at 4747 N.E. Martin Lu-
ther King Jr. Blvd.
You’re invited to come and
get a food box for anyone in
need. The distribution will be
made on a first come first serve
basis. Thanks to Pastor Dwight
Minnieweather, Mark Washing-
ton and Minister Johnny Brad-
ford for coming together to
make this event possible, pro-
viding much needed food for
our community members.
Store Shooting Leaves 10 Dead
Family says
gunman had
mental illness
(AP) — Police on Tuesday
identified a 21-year-old man as
the suspect who opened fire inside
a crowded Colorado supermarket
in an attack that killed 10 people,
including an officer, and sent ter-
rorized shoppers and employees
scrambling for cover.
Authorities said Ahmad Al
Aliwi Alissa was from the Den-
ver suburb of Arvada and that he
engaged in a shootout with po-
lice Monday afternoon inside the
Boulder store. The suspect was
being treated at a hospital and was
expected to be booked into the
county jail later in the day on mur-
der charges.
Investigators have not estab-
lished a motive, but authorities
believe he was the only shooter,
Boulder County District Attorney
People in Boulder, Colo. are led out of a King Soopers grocery store on Monday after a shooting in the
store. Ten people were killed, including a police officer. The gunman was taken into custody, identified
as a 21-year-old man. (AP photo)
The Associated Press that the
Michael Dougherty said.
A law enforcement official gunman used an AR-15 rifle, a
briefed on the shooting told lightweight semiautomatic rifle.
Officials were trying to trace the
weapon. The official was not au-
thorized to speak publicly and
spoke to AP on condition of an-
onymity.
The suspect’s family told in-
vestigators they believed Alissa
was suffering some type of mental
illness, including delusions. Rela-
tives described times when Alissa
told them people were following
The
or chasing him, which they said
may have contributed to the vio-
lence, the official told AP.
The attack was the nation’s
deadliest mass shooting since a
2019 assault on a Walmart in El
Paso, Texas, where a gunman
killed 22 people in a rampage that
police said targeted Mexicans.
Hundreds of police from
throughout the Denver area re-
sponded to the attack, converging
on a King Soopers supermarket in
a busy shopping plaza.
in
Week Review
Solidarity Against Hate
Rose Festival Scaled Back
Reflecting on a disturbing rise in
bias and hate crimes committed
against Asian Americans and Pa-
cific Islanders, the Portland City
Council joined the Multnomah
County Commission, Metro, and
other local government officials
to express shock and horror at
the murders of eight people of
Asian descent in Atlanta last
week. All but one of the victims
were women.
The Portland Rose Festival will
again move forward without its
big outdoor events this year be-
cause of the cornovirus pandemic.
Officials said the 2021 Rose Fes-
tival Queen will be announced in
June and a virtual fleet week will
be held the same month. A tradi-
tional Rose Festival Treasure Hunt
kicks off Memorial Day weekend,
and a Porch Parade will be back.
Violent Extremists Threat
Police say two people walking
their dog in Happy Valley were
bitten by a Portland Police Bureau
dog that escaped his handler’s
fenced yard. It happened March
12 when the dog broke through
fencing. Police say the canine will
remain out of service until an in-
vestigation is complete.
Violent extremists motivated by
political grievances and racial bi-
ases pose an “elevated threat” to
the U.S. homeland, officials said
last week. The intelligence report
echoes earlier warnings that the
threat from domestic violent ex-
tremism was “metastasizing” in
the country.
13 Blazer Players Vaccinated
13 Portland Trail Blazers play-
ers received their first dose of the
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on
Monday thanks to the Confeder-
ated Tribes of Grand Ronde. The
team was able to receive shots left
over for the general public after
distribution to seniors 65 and old-
er and other priority groups.
Police Dog Attacks Walkers
Health Care as Human Right
The Oregon Senate on Thursday
approved a resolution that would
ask voters to decide whether the
state is obligated to ensure that ev-
ery resident has access to afford-
able health care as a fundamental
human right. A similar effort in
2018 was approved by the House
but it died in committee in the
Senate.