PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – An alarming trend is hitting the Portland metro- four local agencies are reporting a string of burglaries they believe are targeting the Asian American community.

The crimes reported stretch from Washington County up to Gresham. Officials want to tell the Asian American community that they are seeing a pattern, and it’s more important than ever to stay aware of anything suspicious.

“It’s disappointing, but it’s not surprising,” said Tom Sollitt, founder of Asian American Town. That was his reaction to learning his community appears to have been targeted by a string of recent burglaries.

Several agencies report a pattern developing since August. Three homes in Gresham, four homes in Tigard, two in Southwest Beaverton, and four elsewhere in Washington County have been burglarized. They believe the affected homes were staked out beforehand and targeted when left empty. The common thread: each agency said the victims were affluent, Asian American homeowners.

Sollitt works to amplify and celebrate local Asian American voices but said the community has dealt with high stress since an uptick in hate crimes nationally since 2020.

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“Even watching these last four years where it doesn’t seem like there’s been any resolution when hate crimes have been committed when the victims have been Asian American, I think maybe…will just increase the likelihood or embolden-ment of people to consider Asian Americans as easy targets,” he said.

Now he said these burglaries are a reminder to stay vigilant, even in your own home.

Washington County listed the following blocks as having been targets:

• 14600 block of NW West Union Road on November 4
• 18800 block of SW Bonnie Meadow Lane on November 6
• 14600 block of SW 152nd Avenue on November 7
• 4000 block of 126th Avenue on November 8

Other agencies declined to specify affected neighborhoods to protect their investigation. They say, though, that they’re canvassing neighborhoods and working to reach community leaders to sound the alarm among the Asian American community.

However, Sollitt fears word-of-mouth will be difficult.

“The Asian American community by and large is pretty disconnected so you’ll see smaller pockets of people that kind of know each other and regularly talk,” Sollitt said.

Police say to report suspicious activity to non-emergency dispatch at 503-629-0111 or call 911 for emergencies.

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