Sniper reported in Portland, police say it was man shooting at rats entering his camp

A possible sniper perched above the highway in Portland, Oregon, was reported to 911, but police say the suspect was using a pellet gun to keep rats out of his tent.

On Aug. 28, a post went viral on the social media site Nextdoor, which stated a Portland woman saw a man with a rifle along the I-205 bike trail in Portland.

According to Willamette Week, the woman wrote, “As I exited from under the Halsey Street overpass, I saw a man two feet from me with rifle and scope aimed at the cars that were slowly moving on the freeway. I saw him, he saw me. I pedaled faster and goosed my electric assist to get down the hill and around the bend so he couldn’t shoot me.”

After getting safely away, police say the woman called 911 and police arrived quickly and caught the suspect.

According to police, there was a man with a long gun detained on Aug. 27 at the location described in the viral post.

Sgt. Kevin Allen told Willamette Week, “It was a guy seen holding a rifle. He was cooperative when challenged and was detained. Officers determined that it was a pellet rifle that he was using to shoot rats getting into his camp. No one was threatened. He allowed officers to take the rifle for safekeeping and was not charged with a crime.”

From the sounds of it, the man and the rats made it out of this one without getting trapped.