Known White Nationalist Kills 2 on Train in Portland
Jeremy Christian is the main suspect in a double homicide and attempted murder in Portland Oregon. It has been reported that he was yelling anti-Muslim statements on a train at two women each wearing a hijab. Three bystanders tried to intervene with Christian and he killed two of the men with his knife and severely injured the third. Video has surfaced of Christian screaming racist, white nationalist, anti-Muslim, hate speech at different rallies and events. This comes less than a week after Richard Collins III was murdered in Maryland by a student with affiliations to a Facebook group called the “Alt Reich”. These two incidents beg the question, are hate crimes on the rise, or are we just paying closer attention now in the wake of electing Donald Trump?
Update, 3:30 a.m., May 27: Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on suspicion of aggravated murder and attempted murder early Saturday morning, records show. He’s being held without bail.
His criminal record includes felony robbery, kidnapping and weapon convictions, records show.
Two men were killed in a stabbing on a MAX train Friday when they tried to intervene as another man yelled racial slurs at two young women who appeared to be Muslim, including one wearing a hijab, police said.
A third passenger who tried to help was also stabbed, but is expected to survive, said Portland police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson.
Officers arrested the suspect as he ran from the Hollywood transit station into the neighborhood near Providence Portland Medical Center in Northeast Portland, Simpson said. Police are still working to identify him and the three men stabbed.
The suspect was ranting about many things, using “hate speech or biased language,” and at one point focused on the young women, Simpson said.
The suspect then turned on the passengers who tried to help, Simpson said.
“In the midst of his ranting and raving, some people approached him and appeared to try to intervene with his behavior and some of the people that he was yelling at,” Simpson said. “They were attacked viciously.”
One good Samaritan died at the scene and another at the hospital, he said. The third victim was undergoing evaluation, but didn’t suffer life-threatening wounds, he said.
“These were folks just riding the train and unfortunately got caught up in this,” he said.
It’s not clear why the man was yelling, Simpson said.
“He was talking about a lot of different things, not just specifically anti-Muslim,” Simpson said.
“We don’t know if he’s got mental health issues,” Simpson said. “We don’t know if he’s under the influence of drugs or alcohol or all of the above.”
The FBI said it’s “offering any resource that may assist Portland Police in their investigation” and will “determine whether there is any potential federal violation.”
Evelin Hernandez, a 38-year-old Clackamas resident, said she was on the train when the man began making racist remarks to the young women. Some men tried to quiet him, she said, and he stabbed them.
Friday marks the start of Ramadan, a monthlong fast observed by most of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims.
“Our thoughts are with the Muslim community,” Simpson said. “As something like this happens, this only instills fear in that community. We have already reached out previous to this incident to our Muslim community partners and the different imams about extra patrol during Ramadan. We want to reassure them that that will continue.”
Portland is home to a rough estimate of about 50,000 Muslims of different ethnicities.
“This appears at least to be an isolated incident based on what we know at this point,” Simpson said.
Officers tried to save the man who died on the train, he said. Police have recovered the knife, he said.
Simpson thanked witnesses who called 911 and reported where the suspect went and what he was wearing.
“It was really critical to us taking this man into custody. (He was) obviously very dangerous based on his actions,” he said.
Steve
Steve is an affordable multifamily housing professional that is also the co-founder of Whiskey Congress. Steve has written for national publications such as The National Marijuana News and other outlets as a guest blogger on topics covering sports, politics, and cannabis. Steve loves whiskey, cigars, and uses powerlifting as an outlet to deal with the fact that no one listens to his brilliant ideas.
