Police: Suspect in stabbings had ranted about Muslims

Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore.

Police said they’ll examine what appears to be the extremist ideology of an Oregon man suspected of fatally stabbing two men who tried to intervene when the suspect yelled racial slurs at two young women who appeared to be Muslim on a Portland light-rail train.

Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, was being held Saturday in the Multnomah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated murder, attempted murder, intimidation and being a felon in possession of a weapon. He was arrested a short time after the attack Friday.

He will make a first court appearance Tuesday, and it wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

A phone at his home in Portland rang unanswered early Saturday.

Police on Saturday identified the victims as 53-year-old Ricky John Best of Happy Valley, Ore., and 23-year-old Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche of Portland. Best died at the scene, and Meche died at a hospital, police said.

Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, of Portland was also stabbed in the attack and is in serious condition at a Portland hospital, police said. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, police said.

Police have also identified the two young women on the train, one of whom was wearing a hijab at the time of the stabbing. Their names haven’t been released.

The assailant on the train was ranting on many topics, using “hate speech or biased language,” according to a statement from police.

Friday was the beginning of Ramadan, the holiest time of the year for Muslims, and the attack prompted soul-searching in Portland, a city that prides itself on its tolerance and liberal views.

A memorial of flowers and signs quickly grew at the scene by a transit station.