Bobby Smallwood GoFundMe: Fundraiser raises over $29,000 as security guard dies protecting staff at a hospital in Portland

Bobby Smallwood, a security officer at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, was killed on Saturday, July 22, after a gunman opened fire at the hospital. Oregon Live citing the hospital reported that the 44-year-old who began working at the hospital last year died while protecting staff and patients.

In the wake of the tragedy, a Fundraiser organized by a friend of the family has raised more than $29,000. The fundraiser said that the money raised would go toward paying for Booby Smallwood's funeral expenses. The page read:

“We would like to have donations to give Amanda & her family at this time so she can focus on healing & remembering what a wonderful soul Bobby was, as well as funding for funeral arrangements."

---

Bobby Smallwood was protecting staff and patients in the maternity ward hallway when he was fatally shot

On Saturday, a lone gunman, identified as PoniaX Kane Calles, a 33-year-old Portland resident, opened fire at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, killing a security guard Bobby Smallwood and injuring another. The suspect, who fled the scene after the shooting, was shot and killed after he was stopped in a vehicle by police in Gresham.

Oregon Live citing Bobby Smallwood’s parents reported that they were told their son was protecting staff and patients in a hallway of the maternity ward when he was shot in the chest.

According to his parents, Smallwood, who was born in Tampa, Florida, came to Portland about 12 years ago. His father, Walter “Bob” Smallwood, told The Oregonian/OregonLive:

“He was the oldest and biggest of everybody. Everybody looked up to him.”

Bobby Smallwood, who was reportedly diagnosed as high functioning on the autism spectrum, started working as a security officer at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center last year after graduating from Portland State University in 2020.

Rachel Webb, a senior math instructor at Portland State University who taught and worked with Bobby Smallwood told Oregon Live that she was surprised, the 44-year-old, who disliked confrontation chose to work in security. Webb, who described Smallwood as a kind individual, said:

“It was devastating. He just graduated and had his entire life in front of him. It was great that he stood up for those who couldn’t stand up for themselves, but it’s just awful that he had to lose his life.”

---

PoniaX Kane Calles (Image via JohnnyLaw619/Twitter)

The Daily News reported that the suspect, who has a history of mental illness, made threats to staff at the hospital in the days leading up to the shooting.

The suspect, whose birth name is Reginald Kane Jackson, changed his name to PonaX Cane Called in 2019. Calles reportedly had multiple convictions in California before he moved to Oregon in 2012.