Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, is suspected in the stabbing death of two men on a Portland train Friday afternoon. Christian was allegedly “ranting and raving” at two Muslim women on-board the train. While spewing his crazed hate speech lecture, three men approached the suspect, in attempt to calm him down and neutralize the incident
But the situation got a whole lot worse when Christian attacked the three man and stabbed each of them. Two died in this attack, one man died at the scene while the other passed away in a hospital. The third man is injured while the suspect has been apprehended by authorities.
What Happened?
A Portland police spokesman said that Christian was “yelling a gamut of anti-Muslim and anti-everything slurs,” in what “would best be characterized as hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions.” This all started late Friday afternoon on a Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) light-rail train.
Two witnesses were Muslim women, once of which were wearing a hijab. They may have been the target of his verbal tirade.
Three men approached the ranting suspect as a means to calm him down. But their words weren’t able to quiet Jeremy’s rage as he pulled out a knife and started stabbing the concerned commuters. Two men died in the stabbing, while the other survived his injuries.
Jeremy Joseph Christian was arrested in the fatal stabbing. He has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of second-degree intimidation and felony possession of a restricted weapon.
Investigators haven’t been able to determine if the two Muslim women previously mentioned were truly the target of Christian’s crazed hate rant. Portland authorities want to conduct an interview with these two witnesses, to find out more about the attack.
Authorities aren’t sure if mental illness or any drugs/alcohol had played a factor in the stabbing or the ranting.
Council on American-Islamic Relations National Executive Director Nihad Awad believes that Donald Trump must address “the rising tide of Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry and racism in our nation.”
“President Trump must speak out personally against the rising tide of Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry and racism in our nation that he has provoked through his numerous statements, policies and appointments that have negatively impacted minority communities,” said Awad.
The names of the victims have been released to the public. Ricky John Best was a 53-year-old man from Happy Valley who died by the knife. Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche was a 23-year-old from Southeast Portland who was stabbed to death. Micah David-Cole Fletcher is a 21-year old from Southeast Portland who survived the incident, but was transferred to a nearby hospital to treat his wounds.
Where was that train?
The train was in Portland, Oregon during this fatal stabbing that has left two men dead.
Who is Jeremy Joseph Christian?
Jeremy Joseph Christian is a 35-year-old man, who use to live at home with his parents in North Portland.
Back in 2002, Jeremy was convicted of kidnapping and robbery. While fleeing from police, Christian was shot in the cheek. His injury was non-life-threatening.
Most recently, Christian attended a protest in Portland’s Montavilla neighborhood. During the protest on April 29th, the 35-year-old was seen doing Nazi salutes and yelling at protesters. Even conservatives and alt-right activists wanted this guy to leave.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Can4b5XRkxI
A prominent alt-right nationalistic leader by the name of Joey Gibson says that his group is not affiliated with the guy draped in the modified American flag. Gibson was also at April’s protest in Portland.
“Extremely hateful man, was yelling and screaming, trying to cause division, calling us names because we didn’t stand for it, we didn’t want it,” said Gibson. “Basically from the beginning, he started doing “hail Hitler stuff”, Nazi stuff, racist stuff.”
Gibson later went on Facebook to disavow Christian’s actions, in an attempt to further distance the ranting murder suspect with his alt-right cause. “This man murdered 2 people last night. Unfortunately people are already blaming us, two dead bodies and people are so quick to use it for political gain,” says Gibson’s FaceBook page. “I apologize to the family members for this brutal and disgusting act by this man. From what I understand he has a long history of mental illness.”
However, Christian doesn’t have any known mental health history on record.
Christian’s Facebook page reflects the ranting hateful side of the suspect’s personality. In one status, he writes “I want a job in Norway cutting off the heads of people that Circumcize Babies.”
