iStock/Thinkstock(PORTLAND, Ore.) — A man is in custody in Portland, Oregon, in connection with stabbings on a light-rail train that left two people dead and one injured after commuters tried to calm the suspect who was yelling what police said “would best be characterized as hate speech.”
Jeremy Joseph Christian of North Portland is being held without bail and is to be arraigned Monday, authorities said.
“This investigation started on Friday, May 26, 2017, at 4:30 p.m., when North Precinct and Transit Police Division officers responded to the report of a disturbance on an eastbound MAX train at the Hollywood Transit Station involving a male who stabbed two other people,” reads a statement by the Portland Police Department. “Multiple officers responded to the area and, while en route, learned that the suspect got off the train and was leaving the area on foot towards Providence Medical Center.”
Police and EMS workers arrived at the Hollywood Transit Station and found three victims who were stabbed.
One victim — an adult male — died at the scene.
The other two victims were transported to a local hospital, where one was pronounced dead and the other was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.
More photos of the deadly stabbing at Hollywood Transit Center from #Chopper2. Info: https://t.co/WBtMpVFWoY pic.twitter.com/NpZ48oVc7z
— KATU News (@KATUNews) May 27, 2017
The suspect was located by officers and taken into custody. He received medical treatment and was turned over to homicide detectives.
The Portland Police Department said in its statement that “preliminary information indicates that the suspect was on the MAX train yelling various remarks that would best be characterized as hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions. At least two of the victims attempted to intervene with the suspect and calm him down. The suspect attacked the men, stabbing three, before leaving the train.
Police said witnesses told them of two young women — “possibly Muslim” — who were on the train at the time of the disturbance and attack, but left prior to police arrival. The young women have not been identified, but one was described as wearing a hijab.
The identities of the suspect and victims have not yet been released. The investigation is ongoing.
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