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Taray Young

(Multnomah County Sheriff's Office)

A 19-year-old who fired a gun nine times while standing in a crowd of partygoers at the Q Center -- ostensibly to stop a fistfight -- was sentenced this week to 120 days in jail and five years of probation.

No one was struck by bullets, although one person was cut by broken glass. Taray Young told authorities who tracked him down several months after the Aug. 7 shooting that he had fired the 9mm rounds into the air after someone punched him during the packed, wall-to-wall dance party.

Individual witnesses interviewed by police said that they didn't believe Young was firing at them.

A private party host had rented out the Q Center -- a space that celebrates LGBTQ diversity -- and investigators say the shooting was not related to the center's mission.

Police found six shell casings inside the center, at 4115 N. Mississippi Ave., and three casings outside.

Young, now 20, pleaded guilty Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court to two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of reckless endangering another person and one count of first-degree aggravated theft in an unrelated case.

Police watched surveillance video of the party and saw Young at the party. They also found a Facebook photo of him holding a gun and wearing the same clothes that witnesses had seen the shooter wearing.

Young was arrested Nov. 27, about 31/2 months after the shooting. Because he earned time off for good behavior in Multnomah County jail, he was released Monday after serving 107 days.

-- Aimee Green

503-294-5119