A shooting at Market and Fore streets early Monday was unrelated to a homicide in the same area on May 25 and does not indicate the Old Port is becoming increasingly unsafe, Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck said at a news conference.
Two Westbrook men were sent to a hospital for treatment after a shooting and stabbing at the intersection just before 12:30 a.m. Monday. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening.
The man who was stabbed checked out of the hospital before police had a chance to interview him, Sauschuck said.
Police were called to the Old Port location for a report of shots being fired shortly before the district’s bars closed.
Police found a 22-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound. Later, they learned that a 23-year-old man had checked himself into Maine Medical Center for treatment of stab wounds stemming from the same incident. Police are not releasing the victims’ names, details about their injuries or their conditions because of the ongoing investigation, Sauschuck said.
A car that was seen leaving the area was found on Oxford Street between Wilmot and Pearl streets. Police plan to process the car, which Sauschuck described as a suspect vehicle, for clues about the incident. They have made contact with the registered owner of the car but would not say whether they believe that person has any connection to the shooting.
The victims are not considered suspects, Sauschuck said, but he said it is not a random crime.
“We do believe all the parties involved did know each other,” Sauschuck said. Nobody has been charged and Sauschuck would not say whether police have recovered a gun or shell casings.
While Sauschuck said he did not have information about a motive in the crime, historically most of the city’s crimes are related to substance abuse of one kind or another.
“Whenever we have a shooting, it’s shocking to the community and it’s obviously of concern to us,” he said. “Even though we had a report of multiple shots fired in this particular area, the Old Port has been incredibly safe for quite some time. Crime in the city of Portland is down 9 percent” so far this year compared to this time last year, Sauschuck said.
Police did charge one man with a probation violation as they searched for the occupants of the car that was seized. Police said he has not been charged with any crime associated with the shooting or stabbing.
The shooting happened near the site of another shooting May 25 in which a 19-year-old man was killed. Johnny Ouch, 20, of Westbrook has been charged with murder in the shooting death of Treyjon Arsenault, a 2014 Westbrook High School graduate, at a third-floor recording studio near the same intersection.
“I don’t believe in any way those two are connected,” Sauschuck said.
Police asked that anyone who saw or heard the altercation, or has information about the case, to call 874-8533.
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