The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
February 22, 2022

Portland Man Opens Fire on Racial Justice Protesters, Killing 1 and Injuring 4 Others
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Portland, Oregon, a 43-year-old man is under investigation for a
Saturday night shooting that left one person dead and five others
wounded at a protest against police killings. Witnesses say Benjamin
Jeffrey Smith confronted Black Lives Matter demonstrators, calling them
"terrorists" before opening fire within 90 seconds of arriving on the
scene. His bullets struck 60-year-old June Knightly in the head, killing
her. Knightly was known as "T-Rex" to her friends and was a beloved
fixture of Portland's LGBTQ+ community and racial justice protests. Four
others were injured by Smith's handgun, before someone returned fire and
injured Smith, sending him to the hospital in critical condition.
Portland's police have not said whether they will charge Smith with a
crime; the police initially described the killing as a confrontation
between an armed homeowner and armed protesters.


.