3 Portland children pepper sprayed, bicyclist sought

PORTLAND, Ore. Three Portland children were pepper sprayed on Tuesday evening by a suspect riding a bicycle.

The Portland Police Bureau said officers were called to the 5500 block of Northeast 9th Avenue at 9:16 p.m. after they received a report of several children being pepper sprayed. Medical personnel were called to treat the 3 boys (ages 12, 11 and 7) who were sprayed.

Police spoke with the grandmother and mother of the victims. They said the boys were getting into their car when a man on a bicycle rode by on 9th Avenue. The suspect then turned around, rode by the car and sprayed the kids with pepper spray while yelling a racial slur, according to the witnesses. He then rode away.

The victims described the suspect as a white or possibly Hispanic man in his mid-20s. He was 5-feet-9, weighed 160 pounds and wore black spandex-style bicycle clothing with a gray or black helmet, the victims said. The bicycle he used was a road bike with a white box on the back.

Police searched the area but were unable to find the suspect. The mother found a white box in the neighborhood and gave it to police. Inside were various tools but no identifying information.

The victims are all African American, and this case is being investigated by a Bias Crimes detective, authorities said.