Suspected shooter Michael Reinoehl, who described himself as “100% ANTIFA,” was involved in a previous skirmish over a gun which also involved Marquise Love. It’s like a Black Lives Matter super-villain team-up.
The incident took place on July 26 when Aaron Scott Collins and a friend left a local bar and noticed a group of teens who appeared to be harassing an older black man who was seated on a park bench. Collins, who has a concealed carry permit, said his friend pulled out his phone to record what was happening and that is what set off the group of teens.
“Somebody said, ’He’s recording us. He’s a Nazi. Get his phone,” Collins told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The crowd turned on Collins and his friend, kicking and striking them, he said.
At one point, as the two men moved into Southwest Salmon Street, Collins said he was struck in the head from behind with a skateboard and fell. People were trying to take the gun from his holster while he was down, he said.
Collins pulled the gun out of his holster but said he kept it aimed down toward the street. He was trying to prevent one of his attackers from grabbing it. That’s when alleged shooter Michael Reinoehl got involved:
Reinoehl had by then joined the fray and tried to grab the slide of the pistol, Collins said. As Reinoehl moved to take the gun, it discharged, Collins said.
“I realized people were trying to pull the gun out of my hand. I compressed my finger around the grip of the gun, under the trigger guard. I’m fighting for physical control of the gun,’’ Collins said. “I felt someone trying to yank on it, the top part of the slide. They’re yanking on it really hard. After the second or third jerk, the gun goes off.”
The group scattered after the gun shot and Collins said he didn’t realize anyone had been hit. He and his friend left but a group of people followed them and knocked Collins to the ground. His gun fell out onto the sidewalk and people surrounded him including the man who allegedly beat a man in the street, Marquise Love:
“I’m pinned there,” Collins said. “People are yelling, ‘Drop the gun. Kill these Nazis!’ We are white. We are tattooed. I’m not a white supremacist. I have conservative leanings, but I try to keep them to myself and play nice with everybody.’’…
The crowd of people attacking him — about a dozen, he estimated – included Marquise Love…
Police eventually arrived and Collins was taken to the hospital with a concussion. He lost his gun and both he and his friend had their phones taken. The next day Michael Reinoehl gave an interview to the Associated Press with a bandage around his arm where he had been shot. In this clip, Reinoehl admitted that he didn’t even know what had started the confrontation. He just assumed that Collins had said something that wasn’t appropriate and jumped in.
As far as I can tell, Reinoehl has not been arrested yet. I realize it can take time to make identifications but in this case his own sister has apparently ID’d him as the man in the videos. And the NY Times has tracked his movements and found another video where he appears to have his hand on his gun earlier the same night. Hopefully the arrest will happen soon.
