Here is the side bar about the shooter from the O article.
Suspect called quiet, video game fan
Erik Salvador Ayala was a quiet man with an interest in computers and video games, not guns or nightclubs, his friend and roommate said Sunday.
Ayala’s mysterious appearance and alleged shooting spree outside a downtown Portland club Saturday night shocked and mystified his friends, said Mike Delisle, Ayala’s roommate.
He said he had no idea why his roommate went downtown Saturday night and he doesn’t think Ayala knew any of the victims.
“It was a big surprise. I didn’t see it coming,” said Delisle, who attended Keizer’s McNary High School with Ayala. “He was a quiet person. He kept to himself.”
Ayala did not frequent dance clubs, such as The Zone, Delisle said. Ayala was not a violent person, did not own a gun and never showed an interest in firearms, he said.
Ayala had worked for the state of Oregon as a contract employee about two years ago. Since then he has worked for temporary employment agencies, Delisle said.
In high school, Ayala was in the McNary band and was a bit of a practical joker. He kept to himself and was hesitant to show his emotions, Delisle said.
One of the things that brought him joy was playing video games such as “Resistance: Fall of Man,” in which an Army Ranger fights an alien race that is trying to take over the world, or “Left 4 Dead,” where the object is to slay fighting zombies.
Half a dozen criminalists converged on a Milwaukie apartment Sunday afternoon to shoot video, take still photographs and examine Ayala’s home.
The apartment is among 18 in four buildings that make up a small complex on Southeast 32nd Avenue.
The police said Sunday evening that Ayala, 24, was the man who shot nine people Saturday night. He shot himself afterward and was in critical condition Sunday night.
Earlier on Sunday, a police video photographer went alone into the small apartment for more than 30 minutes, then the other forensic officers, pulling on rubber gloves, entered as well.
Ayala’s neighbors said the complex draws students and other short-term tenants who generally don’t speak anything more than pleasantries to each other.
Esther Ramirez, 24, who moved into the apartment directly above Ayala’s eight months ago, said she had seen a woman who appeared to be Ayala’s girlfriend coming out of Ayala’s apartment; she said she thinks the girlfriend is deaf because Ayala communicated with her with American Sign Language.
Jake Moreland, 15, and his mother, Renee, 48, live in an apartment directly across a small courtyard from Ayala. Renee Moreland said she saw police officers around the Ayala building well into Sunday morning; she said she was stunned to know the possible reasons for the police interest.
“He was really quiet,” she said. “I just can’t believe this is happening.”
Records show that Erik Salvador Ayala once lived in Keizer at the same address as Salvador and Mildred Ayala in a one-story, ranch-style home in a working-class neighborhood.
No one answered the door at the white house with blue trim Sunday afternoon. There was a car and a pickup in the driveway.
Neighbors say the Ayalas are a nice family, willing to help out if they can. They are quiet, no complaints, said Sidney Mosley, who lives next door. Mosley has lived in the neighborhood for two years and said the Ayalas were there when she moved in.
Mosley said she knows the mom doesn’t speak a lot of English. There is a girl who goes to high school and boys living there, though Mosley doesn’t know how many boys or their names. She thinks one of the boys works for Target.
Told that one of the sons may have been involved in a shooting in Portland, she said: “I wouldn’t have thought anything like that.”
A neighbor across the street said she found it “incredibly hard to believe” that one of the boys from the Ayala family would be involved. The neighbor did not want to be named and was not willing to give information other than to confirm that Salvador and Mildred Ayala lived across from her. She said the Ayala kids have helped her out when her car was broken and also helped her with her computer.
Nutcase. I bet he had made a pass at one of the girls - or perhaps didn’t even dare to go that far and just had a distant crush - and she either rejected him or didn’t even realize he was alive. Or perhaps he thought one of the guys was after the girlfriend his neighbors talked about. Or maybe he was just jealous of people having a good time. Very sad, in any case.
That sidebar said — “Records show that Erik Salvador Ayala once lived in Keizer at the same address as Salvador and Mildred Ayala in a one-story, ranch-style home in a working-class neighborhood.”
For those who don’t know... Keizer is a nice community south of Salem, Oregon, the capital of Oregon (about an hour drive, or less, south of Portland).