‘They are heroes’
‘BRAVE AND SELFLESS’ OREGON STABBING VICTIMS PRAISED FOR STANDING UP TO RACIST RANTS
Even before their names were released, one word repeatedly came up to describe the men who were killed in a stabbing Friday on a light-rail train in Portland, Ore.: heroes.
They had tried to intervene, police said, after another passenger began “ranting and raving” and shouting anti-Muslim insults at two young women.
That’s when the ranting passenger turned his anger toward those who sought to calm him down. He fatally stabbed two men and seriously injured a third, police said, before fleeing the train on foot.
“Two men lost their lives and another was injured for doing the right thing, standing up for people they didn’t know against hatred,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a statement. “Their actions were brave and selfless, and should serve as an example and inspiration to us all. They are heroes.”
Police identified the two slain victims as Ricky John Best, 53, and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, 23.
The third victim, 21-yearold Micah David-Cole Fletcher, is being treated for injuries that were not lifethreatening, police said.
“They were all attacked because they did the right thing,” Wheeler said.
Police arrested 35-year-old Jeremy Joseph Christian, of north Portland. Local media reports described Christian as a “known white supremacist” in the area, and his Facebook page showed a long history of posting racist and extremist beliefs.
According to witnesses, a white male passenger riding an eastbound MAX train Friday afternoon began yelling what “would best be characterized as hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions,” police said. Some of the slurs were directed at two female passengers, one of whom was wearing a hijab, police said.
At least two men tried to calm the ranting man down, but “they were attacked viciously by the suspect,” Portland police spokesman Pete Simpson said at a news conference Friday evening.
“It appears preliminarily that the victims — at least a couple of them — were trying to intervene in his behaviour, de-escalate him and protect some other people on the train when (the suspect) viciously attacked them,” Simpson said.
About 4:30 p.m. Friday, police responded to calls of a disturbance at the Hollywood Transit Center in east Portland. There, they found three stabbing victims, all adult men. Despite measures to save them, Best, a resident of Happy Valley, Ore., was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Namkai Meche, of southeast Portland, died at a hospital; Fletcher, of southeast Portland, is expected to survive, police said.
Based on witness statements, police were able on Friday to track down and arrest Christian. He is being held without bail on two counts of aggravated murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of intimidation in the second degree and one count of possession of a restricted weapon as a felon.
The stabbing attack shocked the city and sent those who knew the victims into mourning.
On Saturday, Namkai Meche’s sister, Vajra AlayaMaitreya, emailed a statement to The Washington Post on behalf of their family, saying her brother lived “a joyous and full life” with an enthusiasm that was infectious.
“We lost him in a senseless act that brought close to home the insidious rift of prejudice and intolerance that is too familiar, too common. He was resolute in his conduct (and) respect of all people,” she wrote. “In his final act of bravery, he held true to what he believed is the way forward. He will live in our hearts forever as the just, brave, loving, hilarious and beautiful soul he was. We ask that in honour of his memory, we use this tragedy as an opportunity for reflection and change. We choose love.”
Namkai Meche was a 2016 graduate of Reed College in Portland who majored in economics, according to a statement by the college.
The mayor identified Best as a father, an Army veteran and a city employee.
“He was an Army veteran killed on Memorial Day weekend,” Wheeler said at a news conference, his voice breaking.
Kareen Perkins, Best’s supervisor at the Bureau of Development Services, told the Oregonian that Best was known for his readiness to help and for his love of his wife and four children.
“He was always the first person you would go to for help,” Perkins told the newspaper Saturday. “I’ve talked to most of his co-workers today, and several of them said it’s just like Rick to step in and help somebody out.”
Christian’s mother told the Huffington Post that she couldn’t imagine why her son would be involved in such an incident, “unless he was on drugs or something.”
“He’s been in prison. He’s always been spouting antiestablishment stuff,” Mary Christian told the news site Saturday. “But he’s a nice person. I just can’t imagine.”