Posted on 11/10/2009 1:00:44 PM PST by Carling
PORTLAND, Ore. -- A shooting has been reported and confirmed at a Tualatin strip mall, police said.
Few details were available. According to Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, there may be as many as 10 victims.
The shooting was reported at 7575 SW Mohawk at the Martinazzi intersection.
Police first confirmed that a shooting had occurred sometime after 11 a.m.
(Excerpt) Read more at kgw.com ...
I have family in that area.....all I know is it takes 1/2 hr minimum to go from Tualitin to Sherwood....traffic is horrible...
Yeah, only a real idiot wants to be unarmed in a war zone.
Sounds like another shooting in a gun free place (Portland Ore.). How does that happen?
I'm late to this conversation, but will comment ...
I don't know where you get the idea that Portland, Oregon is a gun-free place, because it's not. People around there that I know do carry guns and have a concealed weapons permit. Any average citizen can get one without any problem. So, it's not a gun-free zone.
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!
Well, at the location of the shooting, the Tualatin Police Department is literally only blocks away. But, I would imagine the officers were out on patrol. But, since it's not a real big town, they could respond rapidly.
The Blue Mountain dog food plant was one of my first real jobs.
I remember Blue Mountain being there, before everything got built up the way it is now. And I also remember that being a "smelly place" (LOL) when driving by it... :-)
Posted: Nov-10-2009 17:16
A male suspect armed with a rifle fired multiple shots, and died of what appears to be a self inflicted gun shot wound.
(TUALATIN, Ore.) - Detectives continue their investigation into the cause of today's shooting at Legacy Metro Lab in Tualatin. At this time we have confirmed two deceased, one of which included the adult male shooter who died from what appears to be a self inflicted gun shot wound. The other deceased was an adult female employee of the business.
There have been two confirmed injured, one of which was a 63-year old male employee of the business and the other a 20-year old female employee of the business. The injured male suffered multiple gun shot wounds and was life flighted to OHSU.
The injured female suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported by Metro West Ambulance to Legacy Emanual Hospital.
Investigators have determined that at approximately 11:45 a.m., the male shooter entered Legacy Metro Lab armed with a rifle and fired multiple rounds inside the business.
There is information that there was a relationship between the male shooter and the deceased female victim, however the nature of that relationship is still under investigation. The names of the victims are not being released at this time. Detectives are currently working on notifying next of kin.
Following multiple 9-1-1 calls, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue responded to the scene, bringing over 10 fire/EMS units. TVF&R crews were initially staged at the Tualatin Elementary School, due to the unknown status of the shooter.
Upon confirmation by Tualatin Police that there was no risk to firefighter/paramedics, crews were brought into the scene and provided advanced life support medical care to the adult male and female victims. Lake Oswego Fire Department also responded to the scene. Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue has brought their mobile command center unit to the scene, which is being utilized by Tualatin detectives as they continue their ongoing investigation of this incident. SW Martinazzi Avenue remains closed between SW Tualatin-Sherwood Road and SW Sagert Street.
Yes.... that was me. LOL
By Bill Oram
November 10, 2009, 8:49PM
TUALATIN -- By late afternoon Tuesday, a lone state trooper guarded the front of a drug-testing clinic where a man with a rifle opened fire, killing his estranged wife and injuring two of her co-workers.
The gunman fired multiple shots inside Legacy MetroLab-Tualatin shortly before noon, said Tualatin Police Chief Kent Barker.
The shooter was found dead at the scene, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Barker said.
A 63-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds was flown by air ambulance to OHSU Hospital in Portland while a 20-year-old woman was sent by ground ambulance to Legacy Emanuel Hospital after fleeing to a nearby Subway restaurant. The woman was aided by Subway patrons before the ambulance arrived.
The dead woman was identified as Teresa Beiser, 36, of Gladstone.
A week ago, she filed for divorce from her husband of 15 years, Robert Beiser, 39, who worked as a car appraiser for Property Damage Appraisers in Lake Oswego and as an independent contractor for The Oregonian.
They had two children, a 14-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son. Police from several areas fill Southwest Martinazzi Avenue near the office building in Tualatin where two died and others were injured in a shooting this morning.
About two or three weeks ago, Robert Beiser told his daughter's tae kwon do coach that he had purchased several firearms. The coach, Al Dorsey, said Robert Beiser invited him and some customers at Tae Kwon Do 2 in Clackamas to go target shooting. Dorsey declined.
"I thought it was a little strange," Dorsey said. "He bought more than three, at least that's what I understand from what he told me."
Patrick Clark, a friend of Teresa Beiser's, arrived at the scene late Tuesday afternoon, pacing and asking police if his friend was the victim.
"My friends starting calling this morning when it happened," he said. "I didn't take it very seriously."
Clark said he called her many times and couldn't get her on the phone.
"It might not be her," he said, prior to authorities confirming her identity. "I might be going home a little bit happy, and somebody else might have a bad day."
The shooting was the first killing in this city of 26,000 since August 2001 and just its sixth since 1987.
Witnesses said they heard as many as a dozen gunshots in rapid succession about 11:45 a.m., but police did not say how many rounds the shooter fired.
The shots echoed throughout the town, drawing alarmed residents to the scene.
Bill Phillips was walking his dog in a Tualatin park when he heard three shots -- "Pop, pop, pop," he said -- followed by a pause and then six more shots.
"I said, 'Man, that's a gunshot,'" Phillips said.
"It just sounded like fireworks to me," said Belinda Yankey, who works in a building in the same complex as the lab and was driving to lunch when she heard five shots.
Tualatin City Manager Sherilyn Lombos said she got the news of the shooting while in a staff meeting. She said it was the worst tragedy in the town since she became city manager three years ago.
"It can happen anywhere," Lombos said. "I don't think you can make any generalities about what it means for Tualatin."
She said she received calls of support, including one from Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden's office. "It's just a sad day," she said.
Barker said that police were on the scene within two minutes of the first 9-1-1 call and that they found the shooter's body shortly after entering the lab.
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue first responders waited at nearby Tualatin Elementary School. Administrators locked doors at five Tualatin schools for about an hour, and the nearby Horizon Christian Elementary, with about 230 students, was also put on lockdown.
Southwest Martinazzi Avenue near Tualatin Square was clogged with dozens of law enforcement vehicles responding from about a dozen agencies. The intersection of Southwest Martinazzi and Southwest Warm Springs Street was shut down throughout the day, and Barker said the streets would likely be closed into todaywhile investigators tried to piece together the course of events.
The female employee who fled the scene of the shooting ran to the Subway as Mike McNeel, who works in Tualatin, was pulling in for lunch. He said that she was bleeding, her white lab coat and hair covered with shards of glass, and that she did not appear to be shot. He said he wrapped her in his coat while they waited first at an outdoor picnic table and then inside the sandwich shop for an ambulance.
"All that Boy Scout first-aid stuff finally paid off," said McNeel, his hands still shaking nearly an hour after the incident.
Bob Murtha and co-worker Kyle Stone were driving down Southwest Martinazzi when they heard five or six shots. They stood along Martinazzi, waiting for police to let them go back to work and staring at yellow crime scene tape and police cars.
"No one ever thinks that this is going to happen in a place like this," Murtha said.
Homicide was the second leading cause of death on the job for women in 2000, said the private nonprofit Family Violence Prevention Fund. The organization has found that nearly one in four women experience domestic violence in their lives and that at least 24 percent of all abused women say the abuse had forced them to be late for work or to miss it altogether.
In 2007, the Oregon Legislature passed a law requiring the state's 37,000 employers with more than six workers to grant unpaid leave to an employee who needs time to seek legal help, pursue a court order or move out of a home to get away from a violent partner. Oregon is one of 13 states in the nation with such a leave law.
John J. Posey, a Portland workplace-security consultant, said Tuesday that domestic violence "is a huge bucket" of the overall workplace violence problem.
"Many companies are still back in the '70s where they think that if it's domestic violence, then it's private, it's confidential," Posey said. "The reality is that the domestic-violence part of this is extremely dangerous to others."
A victim of domestic violence in the workplace, Posey said, usually is "adept at dealing with the threat that she lives with. But then (the abuser) ... comes in, and he can't get to the target because she knows not to be at work that day. That puts you and me and our co-workers at great risk because this guy's all amped up and ready to go."
Brad Schmidt, Taryn Luna, Roger Gregory, Melissa Navas, Anne Saker, Nicole Dungca, Rick Bella, Lynne Palombo and Helen Jung contributed to this report.
"doesn't anyone think these people would use knives or tire irons or whatever to kill someone they really wanted to kill? especially in a domestic which i think this was."
called it!
“Patrick Clark, a friend of Teresa Beiser’s, arrived at the scene late Tuesday afternoon, pacing and asking police if his friend was the victim.
Two brothers beat 5 people to death and critically wounded a little child with a tire iron about 10 miles from my home about 6 weeks ago. One of the killers may have had the tire iron concealed in the sleeve of his coat or shirt on initial entry. One of the killers was the ex son in law of one of the victims.
Patrick Clark is an Associate in the Portland office of Williams Kastner. His practice focuses on general litigation.
Those who know Teresa Beiser, who was in a body building competition last month, said there were no outward signs of trouble in her marriage.
Neighbors of the Beiser’s said they didn’t know Teresa Beiser filed for divorce from her husband last than two weeks ago.
“It was a pretty quiet home. I walk my dogs by there every morning and the only activity is the dog barking occasionally,” said Phil Obrist.
just sent you a freepmail.
Well, there’s at least 7 Patrick Clarks in Portland, OR and we don’t even know if he lives in Portland.
Thanks for the update.
Such a shame.
Gees, over a divorce. Pathetic.
You’d think one of these reports would have asked Patrick Clark just how close of a friend he was with the woman.
By Rick Bella
November 10, 2009, 8:16PM
GLADSTONE -- Friends and associates saw Robert and Teresa Beiser as devoted, hardworking parents who ran into problems but were trying hard to work them out.
Both parents worked two jobs. They owned a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home on Southeast Oatfield Road, where they were rearing two children, 14-year-old Nicole and her 11-year-old brother, Drew.
"They are -- were -- amazing parents," said Lana L. Traynor, a Portland attorney who has worked with the family. "They were very united for the kids."
Both parents visited Tae Kwon Do 2 in Clackamas three or four times a week to watch Nicole work out and compete.
Nicole, a freshman at Gladstone High School, has studied tae kwon do for four years and has a black belt. She has participated in major competitions in Las Vegas and Chicago.
"Kids like Nicole have really good friends in here," said Al Dorsey, an instructor at Tae Kwon Do 2 and a family friend. "It's like one big family here. It's like a big martial arts support group."
Then, last week, a crack appeared to outside observers. The Beisers, who were married in 1994, filed for divorce in Clackamas County Circuit Court. Teresa is listed as the petitioner.
In court documents, their split appeared amicable. They were seeking joint custody of the children, and Robert tentatively agreed to pay $1,100 a month in child support.
Teresa, they tentatively agreed, would remain in their home with the children. When the property sold, the Beisers would split any profit.
Dorsey knew the Beisers were going through a divorce but thought they were managing the situation.
"They were on good terms," he said. "In fact, the mom had told us that they were separating. We've seen them, and they were always civil."
Thirty-nine-year-old Robert -- friends called him "Rob" -- worked as a vehicle claims adjuster for Property Damage Appraisers in Lake Oswego. He also made predawn deliveries of The Oregonian, working first as a private contractor, then for one of the major distributors.
Teresa, 36, worked as a lab technician for Legacy MetroLab-Tualatin, which provides drug and alcohol testing for employers and the courts. Teresa, an avid bodybuilder and cyclist, also worked as a spin instructor at 24 Hour Fitness on Southeast Sunnyside Road in Clackamas.
Steve Rautio, who distributes The Oregonian in the Clackamas and Oregon City areas, said he couldn't guess Rob was suffering so much or that he was capable of violence. He said he was aware that the couple were divorcing. "He was fine, he was fine," Rautio said, choking back tears. "But he had problems."
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