| The Zone nightclub shooting | |
|---|---|
| Location | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Date | Saturday, January 24, 2009 10:30 p.m. (UTC-8) |
| Attack type | Shooting spree, murder-suicide |
| Weapon(s) | 9 mm Tanfoglio |
| Deaths | 3 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 7 |
| Perpetrator | Erik Salvador Ayala |
On January 24, 2009, Erik Salvador Ayala opened fire indiscriminately, outside of an under-21 nightclub, The Zone, in Portland, Oregon, United States, killing two attendees and wounding seven others. Most of the victims were foreign exchange students.[1][2] Police have defined the shooting spree was a random act of violence. It has been called, "the worst mass shooting in Portland's history".[3][4]
Ayala was critically wounded after the attack by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.[5] He died two days later in a Portland-area hospital.[6]
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At approximately 10:30 p.m. PST, Ayala drove his vehicle to Southwest 4th Avenue and Southwest Main Street in the downtown of Portland, and walked ahead of The Zone, an under-21 nightclub where a birthday party was being held.[2][7] Ayala fired indiscriminately onto a group of teenagers and customers waiting outside the entrance of KELL's Irish Pub,with a 9mm Tanfoglio semi-automatic pistol,[7] killing two people and wounding seven others. Most of the victims were in a foreign exchange student program.[1][8] Ayala then shot himself in the head, critically injuring himself in the suicide attempt,[8][9] dying on the following Tuesday afternoon at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland.[5][6]
Ashley Lauren Wilks, 16, was pronounced dead at the scene, by responding emergency personnel, from two gunshot wounds. Martha Paz De Noboa, 17, was pronounced dead at Oregon Health and Science University Hospital shortly after being shot.[7] Susanna De Sousa, 18, was in critical condition from injuries to her stomach, chest and neck. Bradley Yoast, the General Manager of Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub, the next-door,neighboring bar, suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach. He was discharged from a hospital two weeks later.[10]
Three people were killed in the shooting:[1]
Seven people were injured in the shooting:[1][10][11]
The perpetrator of the shooting was Erik Salvador Ayala, 24 (March 10, 1984[5] - January 27, 2009). He graduated from McNary High School, in Keizer, Oregon, in 2002. Although a clear motive was never found, investigators speculated that Ayala had been diagnosed as a schizophrenic during his high school years and once attempted suicide by overdosing on over-the-counter drugs. He worked at Burger King and threw his medication into the garbage instead of taking it. They also state that he used online discussion boards where he stated he disliked "Preppies". He lived at the Pine Ridge Apartments, in Milwaukie (formerly known as Willow Court) where the police and the community have had a long history of ongoing problems (drug dealing, crime, abuse, etc.).[12]