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This is the shocking moment a wealthy Portland businessman shot a tourist visiting the city’s downtown, just moments after killing another driver in a road rage incident in broad daylight.
Samuel Gomez, 48, photographed Geoffrey E. Hammond, 46, pointing the pistol at him in Rose City Wednesday afternoon, with Ryan Martin, 47, dead on the ground beside Hammond’s Mercedes.
Hammond is accused of murdering Martin moments earlier following a road-rage incident in the crime-ridden city after Martin got out of his Toyota Tundra to confront him, The Oregonian reported.
The pair ‘exchanged middle fingers’ and Martin got out of his car unarmed and walked towards Hammond’s vehicle, and tapped on the window, at which point Hammond shot him in the chest, according to a a probable cause affidavit.
Hammond then shot Phoenix resident Gomez, who was in town for a National Organization of Minority Architects conference. The Oregon city is notorious for its murders, recording an all-time high of 101 homicides in 2022. It saw 92 killings in 2021, although the murder rate has slowed this year and currently stands at 53.
This is the shocking moment a wealthy Portland businessman shoots a tourist visiting the city’s downtown, just moments after killing another driver
Geoffrey E. Hammond, 46, reportedly shot and killed 47-year-old Ryan Martin (pictured right)
At first Gomez thought Hammond may have been an undercover police officer taking control of the chaotic scene.
But moments later he found himself starting down the barrel of a gun just ten yards away, before being shot.
‘He got the gun loaded and he just straight looked at me and then, as you can see in the picture, just popped me,’ Gomez told The Oregonian.
The bullet hit Gomez in the leg, passing through to break the femur in the other.
‘Everything just changed,’ Gomez said. ‘I’m just grateful that I’m alive because it could have been worse.’
Two passers by and a doctor who happened to be in the area ran to his aid.
Gomez was then rushed to OHSU Hospital where he is recovering.
Martin, from southwestern Washington, died at the scene after pleading with Hammond who attempted to shoot him again, but his gun malfunctioned.
Samuel Gomez, 48, photographed a man holding a gun inside his Mercedes SUV just moments after he heard the man shoot another driver, who lay dying on the road
Police have charged Hammond with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and fourth-degree assault
Martin, from southwestern Washington, died at the scene after pleading with Hammond who attempted to shoot him again, but his gun malfunctioned
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Hammond owns an $890,000 home in Portland’s West Hills (pictured) a 2020 Mercedes SUV and four firearms according to court records
The daytime shooting was the latest in a string of homicides in Portland over the past two weeks
Hammond called 911 as he was driving himself toward the county courthouse, and freely admitted to dispatch that he’d shot the two men
‘I’m sorry. I had a bad day’ witnesses recalled the injured man appealing from the ground.
Witnesses told police that Hammond at one point flashed some kind of badge ‘as if he were a police man,’ and said something to the effect of, ‘You are lucky I didn’t shoot you in the head.’
Hammond called 911 as he was driving himself toward the county courthouse, and freely admitted to dispatch that he’d shot the two men.
‘He believed he was justified in doing so because Ryan Martin menaced him and because Sam Gomez might have had a weapon,’ the affidavit states.
During a lengthy interview, Hammond told detectives that he shot both men, consented to a search of his car, said he could see Martin was unarmed before he shot him and said he had meant to shoot Martin a second time, but the gun malfunction stopped him.
He also told detectives that he shot the man from the hotel because he thought the man ‘may have been planning an ambush which he recognized as military tactic.’
Police have charged Hammond with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and fourth-degree assault.
Court records show that Hammond recently changed his named from Jeffrey Edward Mandalis.
Hammond, previously known as Jeffrey Edward Mandalis has a criminal history including charges of assault, vandalism, trespassing and domestic battery
Records show that Mandalis has a criminal history in Illinois including charges of assault, vandalism, trespassing and domestic battery.
In May 2023, Hammond filed for bankruptcy owing around $34,000 in credit card debt and unemployed after his finance company closed.
Hammond owns an $890,000 home in Portland’s West Hills, a 2020 Mercedes SUV and four firearms according to court records.
The National Organization of Minority Architects initially advised conference attendees to avoid walking around Portland and to take Uber or Lyft when traveling in the city.
The daytime shooting was the latest in a string of homicides in Portland over the past two weeks, with much of the violence concentrated in the drug-ridden downtown area.
The city’s tourist board has also issued a warning that open drug dealing and drug use on the streets in putting Portland’s visitor industry in jeopardy.
Most homicides in Downtown Portland are linked to the city’s fentanyl crisis, with Martin’s killing proving a shocking break from the norm.
