A resident in the Bayside neighborhood found a loaded handgun in a parking lot Tuesday morning.

Portland police were called to 58 Hanover St. about 7:03 a.m. after a resident discovered the gun while cleaning up a nearby parking lot, said Portland Police Lt. Robert Martin.

A check of the gun’s serial number did not immediately show it as being stolen, and police are working to learn who originally bought it.

“As long as the serial number is readable we’ll do the search on it, we’ll find out who it was sold to,” Martin said. “Hopefully it wasn’t resold.”

The neighborhood, which is home to cluster of social services agencies and emergencies shelters, has already been the focus of intensified police activity in recent weeks.

Since April, there have been at least three stabbings and two shootings. And on Sunday, two people were injured in a shooting confrontation in nearby East Bayside.

Police have said they are taking the violence seriously and are adding resources to address the situation.

Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck said the recent violence does not appear to be random and has generally involved confrontations between people who know each other. However, he is concerned about the number of violent incidents – especially the shootings – that have occurred in Bayside. He said a shooting in Portland is “a rarity.”

“Crimes of violence in our community are a big deal for all of us and we treat them as such,” Sauschuck said. “We take them very seriously and we’re putting proper resources in place to address them.”


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