Community members gather for a vigil after Portland, Oregon train stabbings, Photo: Sceenshot/KOIN 6 TV, a CBS Affiliate
American Muslims have hailed as heroes the two men in Portland, Oregon, who were killed when they came to the defense of two young women — one wearing a hijab — with many organizations raising money for their victim families.
The two slain men, who stood up to ant-Muslim tirade, have been identified by Police as Ricky John Best, 53, of Happy Valley, Oregon, and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, 23, of Portland. The stabbing attack on a train coincided with the start of the holy month of Ramazan.
According to Police, a third victim, 21-year-old Micah David-Cole Fletcher, is being treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.
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.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, condemned the train stabbings, saying in a twitter message that such violent attacks are unacceptable.
“The violent attacks in Portland on Friday are unacceptable. The victims were standing up to hate and intolerance. Our prayers are w/ them,” he tweeted Monday.
According to witnesses of the deadly stabbing, a white male passenger riding the eastbound MAX train early Friday afternoon began yelling what “would best be characterized as hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions,” Police said.
As Best and Meche tried to calm down the ranting man, “they were attacked viciously by the suspect,” Portland police spokesman Pete Simpson told a Press conference.
“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.”
“I am very thankful as a Muslim, I am very thankful as a Portlander … that we stand together here as one,” Muhammad Najieb, Imam at the Muslim Community Center, said, according to media reports.
The two “could have been the victims, but three heroes jumped in and supported them,” Najieb said.
A fundraising page launched by the group for the families of the dead men, a surviving victim and the two young women had raised $50,000 in its first hours.
Meanwhile, LauncGgood.com/Portland is also running a campaign for donations under #Muslims4Portland: Support the Heroes of the Portland Attack (https://www.yomyomf.com/muslims4portland-support-the-heroes-of-the-portland-attack/), and is said to be getting a huge response from citizens.
According KOIN TV, a CBS affiliate, a witness, Rachel Macy, recalled the last moments of 23-year-old Meche’s life.
“I just didn’t want him to be alone,” Macy said. “I took my shirt off and put it on him. We held it together, I just prayed, all I could do was pray.”
“I told him, ‘You’re a beautiful man. I’m so sorry the world is so cruel,'” Macy is shown saying on the TV channel.
“He said, ‘Tell them, I want everybody to know, I want everybody on the train to know, I love them,'” she recalled. “He was a beautiful man, that’s what I want people to know.”
