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A 16-year-old boy will be arraigned Monday afternoon on an allegation of attempted murder stemming from a shooting Saturday night in front of the Portland Police Bureau's East Precinct, police said. A bullet struck the precinct, but no one was injured.

(Portland Police Bureau)

The mother of the 16-year-old accused of firing a gun outside the Portland Police Bureau's East Precinct on Saturday night said her son had come from the party across the street at the community center.

Jamie Farlow said her son was trying "to scare off the kids who were messing with his friend.''

"Having a gun is nothing to play around with. It's not OK with me,'' Farlow said.

But she said just because he had a gun doesn't make him a gang member. Farlow said she had no idea where her son got a gun.

Dontae Eugene Mathis Jr. was arraigned Monday afternoon in juvenile court, accused of attempted first-degree assault with a firearm, three counts of unlawful use of a fiearm, discharging a firearm in the city and three counts of recklessly endangering another. Prosecutors dismissed the attempted murder allegation. Mathis was booked into the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Home.

Portland police said the 16-year-old boy is accused of firing at a rival gang member in front of the precinct. No one was injured.

A Sweet 16 birthday party was being held at the East Portland Community Center at 740 S.E. 106th Ave. that night.

Organizers of the party had purchased a handheld metal detector that they used on attendees to make sure no weapons got inside, said Marsha Hayes, who was at the party. It was being held for her grand niece.

Shortly before midnight, police responded to a report of a large number of teens letting out of the community center.

"I was outside when the first shot was fired,'' Hayes said. "It was right after the kids were leaving.''

Officers heard people pounding on the East Precinct's front doors and windows. Two cops went to the front door and heard gunshots. A 17-year-old ran inside the station, asking for help and saying someone had shot at him.

The officers then saw a teen fire another shot toward the south as he walked by the precinct, Simpson said. The teen was with a large group walking toward Southeast Stark Street.

"Portland Police Officer Alfonso Valadez was working writing reports in the precinct when he heard a commotion outside, followed by a gun shot," Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Eric Zimmerman said in a probable cause affidavit.

When Valadez went to the front door, he was standing about 10 feet away from Mathis and "observed him post up and take another shot, and then a third and final shot," Zimmerman said.

Another officer was outside the precinct when the party let out and "heard the first shot and immediately noticed the defendant because everyone else was running in a panic and he wasn't," the prosecutor said.

The officer saw the suspect "aim chest high towards a crowd of people 20 to 30 feet away and shoot again and again," Zimmerman said."Meanwhile, a person later identified as the intended victim ran into the precinct exclaiming someone was shooting at him."

Officers followed the teen and took him into custody. He had ditched the gun, said police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson.

Police recovered a 22-caliber revolver with three spent casings in the cylinder, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Officers discovered that a bullet apparently struck the front of the precinct.

Investigators with the Gang Enforcement Team believe the suspect and his intended target are members of rival gangs, Simpson said.

The suspect told a police detective that "he shot into a crowd of people, albeit claiming self-defense, but ultimately told the detective that 'I feel bad I probably scared a couple of people,' and wrote an apology letter for his actions,'' according to the affidavit.

It marks the 31st gang-related shooting in the city this year; at this time last year, there were 14, according to gang enforcement officers. (See related story, and map of year's gang violence)

Police ask anyone with information to contact Detective Todd Gradwahl at 503-823-2056, todd.gradwahl@portlandoregon.gov; or, Detective Meghan Burkeen at 503-823-2092, meghan.burkeen@portlandoregon.gov.

--Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212; @maxoregonian