On this day, May 5, 1903, James Beard, US culinary expert, author (Delights & Prejudices), was born in Portland, Ore.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing Mrs. Elsie Mitchell, the pregnant wife of a minister, and five children after they attempted to drag it out the woods in Lakeview, Oregon. The balloon was armed, and exploded soon after they began tampering with it. They became the 1st and only known American civilians to be killed in the continental US during World War II.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, Bly minister Archie Mitchell, his pregnant wife Elsie, and five children from Mitchell's Sunday school class were on a Saturday morning picnic. Thirteen miles northeast of Bly, or about sixty miles northeast of Klamath Falls, Mitchell parked the car, and Elsie and the children headed to Leonard Creek. Mitchell later remembered: "As I got out of the car to bring the lunch, the others were not far away and called to me they had found something that looked like a balloon. I heard of Japanese balloons so I shouted a warning not to touch it. But just then there was a big explosion. I ran up there--and they were all dead." It was a Japanese balloon bomb. They were 70 feet tall with a 33-foot diameter paper canopy connected to the main device by shroud lines. Balloons inflated with hydrogen followed the jet stream at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
No arrests have been made
A group of around 100 leftist-anarchists
caused substantial damage to businesses and government buildings in downtown Portland Tuesday night.
On October 12, 2021, at about 9:00p.m., Portland Central Precinct officers learned that a group had gathered in the area of Chapman Square Park, and some participants were blocking Southwest 3rd Avenue. Some fencing from the park was used to barricade the street.
Some illegal aerial fireworks were set off, as well as graffiti to buildings. At about 10:00p.m., the group began to march. Mostly within a time span of about 10 minutes, participants broke numerous windows and bank ATMs. Officers were called to respond citywide, and all but the highest priority life safety 911 calls were left to hold so officers could be dispatched. At the same time, the group began to light garbage cans and dumpsters on fire in the street.
When resources arrived, the crowd was given direction to disperse by loudspeaker. A Mobile Field Force moved in and the crowd splintered into multiple directions. Some group members laid down in front of police vehicles to attempt to prevent police response. Police believe that some people involved in criminal activity were changing clothes as they were moving to further stymie efforts to identify them.
Investigations into the criminal behavior are underway. No arrests have been made yet. At this point the damage is believed to be in excess of $500,000, and reports are still being compiled. There were 35 separate locations that were targeted, including banks, retail stores, coffee shops, and government buildings.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
"I'm concerned about the brazen criminal acts that took place downtown last night," said Chief Chuck Lovell. "I want to assure those who were victimized that investigations are underway, and we will do whatever we can to identify and arrest those who were responsible. We ask that anyone with information please reach out to us. Thank you to all the officers who responded to a challenging situation."
Descriptions of the destruction include:
- Three retail store windows are cracked and splintered
- A dumpster in the street with flames shooting out of the top
- A rough circle of plastic rolling garbage cans charred and melted in the street
- A double glass door of a business tower building shattered and torn off its hinges
- Graffiti spells out the words "KILL COPS"
- Graffiti spells out "RIOTS WORK"
- A coffee shop, already partially boarded up, has its windows shattered
- A bank ATM screen and window is shattered
--Ben Fisher| Post Date: 2021-10-13 17:07:08 | Last Update: 2021-10-13 17:36:39 |
