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You are here: Home / Politics / America / Today in Domestic Terrorism: Anti-Muslim Attack in Portland Oregon

Today in Domestic Terrorism: Anti-Muslim Attack in Portland Oregon

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Earlier this evening two people were killed and another wounded attempting to intervene with a man who had been bullying a pair of women for being Muslim.

Portland’s KATU News reported that:

Witnesses told KATU’s Joe Douglass the stabbing suspect was hurling racial insults at two women with dark skin, one of whom was wearing a headdress. Two men who came to the woman’s defense had their throats slashed by the suspect, witnesses said.

Another witness says she saw two women who appeared to be of Middle Eastern-descent get on the train. At least one of them was wearing a headdress. The suspect was asking them questions when he got belligerent. When another bystander tried to calm him down, the man took out a knife and began stabbing people.

“He said, ‘Get off the bus, and get out of the country because you don’t pay taxes here,’ [he said he] doesn’t like Muslims, they’re criminals,” Evelin Hernandez said.

Portland’s KGW News also reports that:

Portland police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson said the man was yelling hate speech on the train. While Simpson said the rants weren’t exclusively anti-Muslim, he said at some point the man began directing his speech towards two younger women are believed to be Muslim. One was wearing a hijab, Simpson said.

While the man was yelling, other passengers began trying to calm him down. That’s when the man attacked three of the people who intervened, Simpson said. One person died at the scene and one later died at a hospital. The third victim is expected to survive. They have not yet been identified.

The suspect then ran from the train into a nearby neighborhood, where police took him into custody. Simpson said it’s not yet known what prompted the man’s behavior.

None of the news reports identify who the suspect is or provide a description of him.

(H/T: Timurid)

 

 

Reader Interactions

82Comments

  6. 6.

    Flanders' Former Neighbor

    What the fuck is wrong with people these days. Are brains so easily washed?

  7. 7.

    Comrade Mary

    I can completely see me or many of my friends stepping up like that, confident that if there were 2-3 of us, OF COURSE we could take on the vile bully. Those poor people in Portland, just like us, trusting in the strength of a few good people against evil — only to find out the evil was even more than they expected.

  8. 8.

    hovercraft

    @lollipopguild: @Adam L Silverman:

    None of the news reports identify who the suspect is or provide a description of him

    Gee I wonder why? I’m sure that it’s just a disturbed individual who just randomly snapped and happened to harangue these two women for no apparent reason. You know that this cannot be a hate crime or religious bigotry.

  9. 9.

    No One You Know

    There’s gonna be letters about this.

    Despite all the signs in the windows about “You are safe here” none of us are safe anywhere: our way of life depends on both a degree of civility despite difference, and a willingness to recognize basic human rights.

    Trump’s voters can, have,and will cost us that. that. There’s no drug more addictive than the permission to indulge in hatred of the Other (brown, black, female, educated…Different.)

  11. 11.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Flanders’ Former Neighbor: Behavior is socially learned. Four components:
    1) Primary (family, close friends, religion, political ideology affiliation, profession) and secondary (everything else) associations
    2) Definitions that delineate behavior
    a) Favorable – promote specific behaviors
    b) Unfavorable – restrict/prohibit specific behaviors
    c) Neutralizing – override definitions unfavorable allowing prohibited behaviors to be indulged in
    3) Imitation of elites, notables, or anyone admired who engages in specific behaviors
    4) Reinforcement – until negative reinforcement/punishments are meted out in an observable manner, behavior will continue, including deviant, delinquent, and criminal behavior (including political violence)

  12. 12.

    Mnemosyne

    Simpson said it’s not yet known what prompted the man’s behavior.

    Uh, yeah, I think we all have a pretty good idea what prompted it.

    And, yes, those poor people who tried to intervene and got murdered for their trouble. I guess we should be grateful he didn’t have a gun.

  13. 13.

    Mnemosyne

    @Timurid:

    I don’t know who Bryan Rice is (probably just some schlub like us), but I like the cut of his jib:

    Bryan Rice‏ @bricey16 23m23 minutes ago
    There always seems to be one piece of the story that’s innocent enough, but almost impossible to make innocent explanation w/ all the pieces

  14. 14.

    sm*t cl*de

    police took him into custody

    Aimed, suspected of violent murder, apprehended without being shot?
    What lollipopguild said.

  16. 16.

    BBA

    I think we should just preemptively round up all white men and charge them with terrorism, to save time and effort.

  17. 17.

    The Thin Black Duke

    The two people who died because they tried to do the right thing had more courage than all the Republicans in congress. Damn it.

  18. 18.

    BruceJ

    Clearly just a lone individual, clearly disturbed. Couldn’t possibly be influenced by anything so mundane as mainstream GOP rhetoric!

  20. 20.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    My poor city :(
    I don’t take MAX and work out in East PDX, so I only just now found out about this.
    Ugh.

  24. 24.

    efgoldman

    @lollipopguild:

    can i speculate that he was a white male trump voter?

    And a “disturbed” Lone Wolf, of course. Couldn’t possibly be a terrist, nope, no way, no how.

  27. 27.

    Lyrebird

    @Timurid: Quoted from your link, but for truth:

    So a dumb administration full of neophytes had a dumb plan to pursue their big FP idea without existing FP bureaucracy getting in the way.

    A dumb question for an overpaid Douthat: So if they didn’t think they were doing something wrong (e.g. brokering deals with foreign powers before winning the election), why would they need such secrecy?

    Timurid, I know I’m just echoing your question without much to add. Glad you’re watching those vapid tweet-channels and alerting the rest of us.

    ETA: the comment thread on Timurid’s link is pretty good though!

    Back on topic:
    Will say prayers for the families of the good people who intervened…

  29. 29.

    Это курам на смех

    My MAX train home from work is a different Portland route, but now I have to think about how I would respond if this guy had been on my train today. If doing the right thing to defend the helpless targets of such behavior gets you killed, now people will think twice about stepping up to defend them. And that’s a fucking shame.

  30. 30.

    efgoldman

    @Это курам на смех:

    I have to think about how I would respond if this guy had been on my train today. If doing the right thing to defend the helpless targets of such behavior gets you killed, now people will think twice

    What are Oregon gun laws like?

  31. 31.

    Timurid

    @Lyrebird:

    Twitter is really weirding me out tonight. It’s as if everyone on the NYT staff got a call from their Russian handlers to get their asses online and start normalizing for the Motherland…

  32. 32.

    Lyrebird

    @Lyrebird: Sorry, it was after the election, but the whole matter stinks… I hope it stinks enough to SINK this maladministration!

  34. 34.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Timurid: I’ve seen the attempted justifications they’re floating as explanations. As someone who works in the DOD space, and has specifically worked on the issues to which they’re referring, they have no idea what they’re talking about.

  36. 36.

    Это курам на смех

    @efgoldman: This is an open carry state, but in blue Portland seeing weapons in the open freaks most people out. Not that I want us to embrace concealed carry as a means to stop these yahoos. The act of some “good samaritan” opening fire on a crowded commuter train is not going to end well.

  37. 37.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Amanda in the South Bay: The best, down and dirty self defense system for dealing with knife attacks is Grab, Undo, Neutralize (GUN). It was created by a police officer, who also had done corrections work, in Wisconsin. It is intended to build off of the natural responses to an attack. It can be taught in about 15 minutes and one can be proficient in short order as a result as opposed to the defenses that are part of formal martial arts systems (these take years to learn and become proficient in). See if you can find someone that teaches it in your area.

    The above said: distance is your friend if you are dealing with someone with a knife. If you can create space you create options to respond. If you have a backpack or a briefcase or a purse it gives you room to deploy it as a striking weapon against the knife hand or as a defensive option.

  39. 39.

    Timurid

    @Adam L Silverman: They didn’t mind toying with some light scandal, but now that the price of poker has gone up, they will close ranks. They’re doing nothing to dissuade me of my suspicions that they’re an outfit run by lace curtain white supremacists…

  40. 40.

    Timurid

    I got a post in moderation, apparently for “p0k3r,” as in the price of it has just gone up.

  42. 42.

    Это курам на смех

    @Adam L Silverman: There’s no question that good martial arts training is the best tool in the shed. Not having that, I’m wondering how to fit a baseball bat into my shoulder bag. On a crowded train, keeping a safe distance is not an option, and there is nowhere to escape to.

  45. 45.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Это курам на смех: That’s why the GUN system works well. It was created so one could effectively defend oneself if being pressed against a balustrade in a tower block of cells while the attacker was trying to stab you with a shiv made out of a toothbrush.

  51. 51.

    amk

    @JanieM:

    His speech was not specifically anti-Muslim and his behavior was erratic, Portland Police Bureau Sgt. Pete Simpson said.

    rriight. I guess pete was standing right next to that murderer.

  52. 52.

    piratedan

    comment seen over at LGF regarding the Kushner shoebomb:

    Our NATO allies are calling an Article 5 themselves, defending the US from Russian attack.

    dayummmm………….

  57. 57.

    Mike in NC

    Have any of you been watching ‘Gomorrah’, an Italian TV show about rival criminal gangs working around the slums of Naples? Sundance channel. Really good, gritty stuff.

  58. 58.

    Mnemosyne

    @amk:

    Meh, I don’t really fault the cops all that much when it comes to their public statements. If they say too much, the guy could get off by claiming the police were biased against him so he couldn’t get a fair trial.

  59. 59.

    ? ?? Goku ? ?

    Why the fuck would the guy attack the people intervening? Horrible. RIP to those who died and glad he will face justice

  60. 60.

    amk

    @Timurid: True. Under twitler’s illegitimate regime, I am guessing ‘radicalization’ of leo’s has shot up considerably.

  61. 61.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mnemosyne: South and Southwestern states are always over represented in criminal activity. Also divorce, out of wedlock births, and teen pregnancy. Legacy of the same cultural components that gave us the Great Rebellion and Jim Crow.

  65. 65.

    amk

    @Mnemosyne: yeah, I am sure that was what preying on pete’s mind. How about, ‘we are investigating at this point, we will let you know when we know more’ instead of blanket denial of the murderer’s motives?

  66. 66.

    Lyrebird

    @Timurid: Hmmm I thought the long-running slam against the NYT is that it’s run by cowards rather than out and out white supremacists… Weren’t they the major paper that had some info about the Nazi death camps but downplayed it? Begging pardon if I got that wrong. Oh thank you Wikipedia.

    Anyhow, more to your point, what you’re describing is a mighty strange response to what oughta be some feelings of guilt… are we not sending them enough post-apocalyptic images titled “but her emails”?

  67. 67.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Mnemosyne:

    Sort of related, but something that had occurred to me a few weeks ago: one of the reasons people in red states think they’re in the middle of a violent crime wave is that red states are in the middle of a violent crime wave.

    Why, that’s nothing a few more open carry laws won’t mix, you damn dirty hippy!

  70. 70.

    Cain

    @Amanda in the South Bay:

    As a fellow Portlander, i am grieving too. We have good people in this city. They need to start cracking down on these assholes. It won’t be safe for people like me. I could have been a target just as easily as those women.

  72. 72.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mike J: Doubtful. Each state’s laws for what can and cannot be carried concealed, with or without a permit, are different. So check the applicable laws where you live. They can be very effective in a self defense situation.

  74. 74.

    Это курам на смех

    I think pepper spray is a more effective deterrent against people using selfie sticks.

  77. 77.

    Shalimar

    @BBA: Hold on with that. I don’t normally bother with the “not all white guys” thing, because frankly I just assume any white guy I talk to is going to be a Republican asshole unless I already know he isn’t. But, I really don’t want to be rounded up and charged with terrorism. That might be a bridge too far.

  78. 78.

    sm*t cl*de

    @Mnemosyne:

    that red states are in the middle of a violent crime wave.

    It is time that White community leaders spoke out about the cultural dysfunction that leads to this white-on-white violence.

  81. 81.

    TenguPhule

    And the lesson here is that you don’t try to reason or argue with a white trash neo-nazi. If you’re gonna intervene when they make a scene, go for the kill. Because they sure as hell will.

    If someone has to die, make sure it isn’t you.

  82. 82.

    TenguPhule

    @? ?? Goku ? ?:

    Why the fuck would the guy attack the people intervening?

    To serve as examples to the next bunch of good people who think about standing up for others.

    Fascist privilege in full effect. Arrested, not shot. Because cops apparently not afraid of armed white murderer.

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