(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
North Portland resident and well-known local mountain bike racer Matthew Slaven is recovering in a hospital today after being shot while walking through a park in Santa Cruz, California last night.
According to a story the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Slaven and a group of friends were walking through San Lorenzo Park at about 10:00 pm last night when they were approached by a man who demanded their wallets. The man then shot Slaven before fleeing with a wallet. The suspect is still on the loose.
BikeMag.com reported this morning that the bullet shattered Slaven’s clavicle and became lodged in his neck near his esophagus. Despite that, he’s expected to make a full recovery and BikeMag.com says he’s in great spirits in the hospital.
Slaven is a fixture on the local mountain bike and cyclocross scene. He used to work at Bike Gallery but currently works as a sales rep for Continental Tires while racing the professional enduro circuit with sponsorships from Kona and Bell Sports. Back in April we highlighted a video that features Slaven riding the trails at Sandy Ridge.
Slaven lives in the Piedmont Neighborhood in north Portland with his wife and 2-year-old daughter.
There are lots of comments and well wishes coming in for Slaven via this Kona Facebook post.
Get well soon Matthew! We all look forward to seeing you out on the bike again very soon.