Police in Portland, Maine are looking to speak with anyone who has information about a shooting in the city’s busy Old Port early Saturday morning.
According to investigators, officers on foot heard a gunshot around 1 a.m. near Fore and Moulton streets as bars in the area were closing up and people were exiting businesses onto sidewalks.
The officers had moved toward a group of people after some kind of disturbance when the shot rang out, causing people in the area to run.
No one was injured in the incident.
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"It’s shocking in this area that is so well-trafficked," said Chris Mason, a longtime visitor to Portland from New Haven, Connecticut, who has been coming to the city for the past 30 years and was in the Old Port on Monday.
"It’s a very busy place for tourists, I don’t even see fistfights or arguments around here for the most part," he added.
Mason’s view was echoed by others in the area, who hoped the violence in the heart of Portland would come to an end after a previous shooting that injured two people on nearby Wharf st. in September.
"I wouldn’t want to see this becoming a trend here, it’s scary," said Corrinne Adamovicz of Falmouth, Maine.
Both shootings follow a move made by Portland police last month to increase officer presence in areas where the city has seen violence.
Already in September, overall shootings in Portland had doubled from 2021.
As of Monday afternoon, Portland police said they had no immediate update on an arrest or suspect.
They had recovered a handgun from the scene on Saturday.
