Gun violence in Portland and nationwide increased dramatically in 2020. In early 2003, shootings in Portland were also trending up. That year, Serenity Capers, her boyfriend, and their unborn son Rashard Jr were shot. In the audio below, Serenity tells her story about what life is like after a shooting and why she says violent crime should be addressed as more than a policing issue.
Listen below or read the full story.
Serenity Capers shows the scars from where she was shot and nearly killed fifteen years earlier.
Serenity brushes Rashard Jr.’s teeth early in the morning before he goes to school.
Rashard Jr., who goes by Pooh, was born with cerebral palsy. He can’t talk and requires a wheelchair to get around.
His limitations are mostly physical. He understands everything and has adaptive technology for complex communication.
He’s a perpetually happy teenager. Serenity says his love of fashion reminds her that he’s still a normal child.
Serenity puts makeup on before meeting friends. It was one of the first times she’d gone out since she was shot in 2003.
Sixteen years since she and her unborn son were shot, Serenity now carries a gun when she goes out.
Serenity talks to Deron Crain, an ex-boyfriend who helped co-parent Pooh for the first time in years. Crain was shot and killed in 2020.
Serenity ties Pooh’s shoes on August 1, 2019 in Portland, Oregon.
Serenity feeds Pooh a french fry. He can’t talk but she has a mother’s instinct for what he wants or is trying to say.
Serenity looks on as a nurse re-fills a pump with muscle relaxer that helps ease the pain from constant muscle spasms.
Serenity and Pooh roller skate on the 16th anniversary of the shooting that almost killed them both.