Officers surround the body of a man fatally shot Saturday night.
Officers surround the body of a man fatally shot Saturday night. NATHAN HOWARD / GETTY IMAGES

This article was originally published on Slog's sister blog in Portland, Blogtown, run by The Portland Mercury. Follow them for daily coverage of Portland's protests.

A man was shot and killed Saturday evening during a pro-Trump rally in downtown Portland.

Portland Police Bureau (PPB) say the unidentified victim died around 8:45 pm from a gunshot wound to the chest. Videos shared by reporters on the scene show a man lying on his back near SW 3rd and Alder, surrounded by officers and medics attempting to treat him.

A video posted on Facebook shows the minutes leading up to the shooting from across the street. The clip captures several people on a sidewalk in front of a parking garage shouting at each other before the sound of two gunshots go off, accompanied with a puff of smoke.

The shooting coincided with a pro-Trump car caravan winding its way through downtown Portland. It's not immediately clear if the shooting was directly connected to this protest.

The caravan, dubbed a "Trump cruise rally," met around 4 pm at the Clackamas Town Center parking lot. In the Facebook page for the pro-Trump event, organizers encouraged attendees to bring firearms with them, as long as they followed concealed carry laws.

After gathering at the shopping mall, several hundred vehicles—many waving large American and Trump 2020 flags—then drove to downtown Portland, where they were met by groups of counter-protesters. Portland police dressed in riot gear stood by as caravan members drove through groups of people in the street. Other drivers jumped out of their cars to confront counter-protesters on the street, some getting into fistfights.

In photos of the scene viewed by the Mercury, the deceased man is seen with a "Thin Blue Line" patch on his shorts and wearing a hat emblazoned with the insignia of Patriot Prayer, a far-right group based in Vancouver. The group has a history of organizing demonstrations in downtown Portland that often turn violent. Videos from the scene show Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson speaking to protesters on a sidewalk shortly after the shooting.

PPB has confirmed it is actively investigating the shooting as a homicide. A spokesperson for Mayor Ted Wheeler told the Mercury the mayor will comment on the incident Sunday morning.

The Mercury is closely following this story and will update Blogtown as new information comes in.