PORTLAND — Portland police shot a person at Lents Park in Southeast Portland just after 9:30 a.m. Friday, April 16. Police confirmed that the victim, a white man who has not been identified, died at the scene.

Sgt. Kevin Allen said officers from the bureau’s East Precinct dispatched to a “suspicious circumstance involving a weapon.” Acting Police Chief Chris Davis, who is filling in for Chief Chuck Lovell during Lovell’s vacation, said that the call was for a “white man pointing a gun in the park.” When asked if police recovered a gun from the scene, Davis said he could not answer that question yet.

Police closed streets around Southeast 92nd Avenue and Holgate Street, where the shooting occurred.

Davis said officers used both a less-than-lethal launcher, which shoots a 40-millimeter round and also a standard firearm in the encounter. In a press statement, the police bureau said two officers fired less-than-lethal rounds, and one officer used lethal force.

The officer who shot the man has worked for Portland police for eight years. The bureau placed the officer on administrative leave and said that person’s name would be released April 17.

Juan Chavez, who works as an attendant at a nearby AM/PM convenience store, said he saw a man blocking traffic and acting erratically before the shooting. He said about 20 minutes prior to the shooting, he saw an ambulance arrive to talk to the man in the street. Chavez said he saw medical workers help the man onto a gurney. A short time later, the ambulance left but didn’t transport the man. Chavez reported hearing two shots after police arrived in the park.

The location of the shooting is inside an area serviced by Portland Street Response, a recently launched non-police unit that assists people who are experiencing homelessness or mental health crises. Several people in the area told OPB they believed the man may have been camping nearby. Allen said he could not speak specifically to why the police were involved with the call instead of Portland Street Response but noted that the specialized team does not typically respond to calls that involve weapons.

“Street Response was not dispatched, and given the information that we had, it would not have been appropriate,” Davis said. “This call would have been outside Street Response protocols.”

Staff with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office were on scene at the shooting.

Protesters also began to arrive as midday approached, as did police in riot gear. They threatened to disperse the crowd. Officers with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office assisted with crowd control around the scene of the shooting. Portland police said they had so many officers working crowd control at the scene of the shooting that service calls elsewhere in the city experienced delays.

One protester, who declined to give his name, told OPB that demonstrators at the scene posed no real threat to law enforcement.

“Police have a Batman belt full of tools of destruction,” the protester said. “Not only are they armed with all these tools, they are armed mainly with qualified immunity. Meaning that when they use these instruments of death against us, we cannot even sue them. So, it’s a damn lie when they say they’re afraid of us.”

Police issued a statement saying some people in the crowd threw objects at them, and one police vehicle had its tires flattened.

In a written statement, Wheeler urged calm: “These shootings always are traumatic for everyone involved and for our community, regardless of the circumstances. I want to offer my sympathy to the individual involved and to their family. My thoughts also are with the officers who were involved. I visited the scene this morning to show respect for the individual, their family, the officers, and our community. I received a preliminary briefing and will continue to receive updates as information becomes available.

“I recognize why people are concerned and possibly angry. While our understanding of this incident evolves, I urge everyone to proceed with empathy and peace.”

Reporter Sergio Olmos contributed to this story.