Two were killed and one wounded in a recent stabbing on a train in Portland, Oregon on Friday afternoon. The suspect was Jeremy Joseph Christian, a person who has a background of expressing hate against minorities. The incident is being classified as an instance of hate crime.
From hate speech and racial insult to stabbing
According to a report, a teenager by the name of Destinee Mangum and her friend was being shouted at by the suspect who was throwing insults and racial slurs at the two women. Mangum, 16, said that the suspect frightened her and her friend enough that they were forced to move to the back of the train to get away from the man.
"He told us to go back to Saudi Arabia and he told us we shouldn't be here, to get out of his country," Mangum said in an interview. The teenager added that the suspect was not content with these words; that the man also implied the two did not amount to anything and should just "kill themselves."
The two teenagers were ready to leave at the next stop. At this point, three strangers on the train confronted the suspect, saying that the hate speech was "no way to treat the ladies." An argument ensued.
By the time they got to the next station, the two women saw that the suspect "just started stabbing people." They ran for their lives, and some people called 911 to report the location of the suspect as he fled the scene.
However, it was too late for two of the three men.
Ricky John Best died at the scene. He was a 53-year-old war veteran and city technician who, as reports say, was planning to pursue public service. Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, also from Portland, was a 23-year-old graduate of Economics from Portland's Reed College.
The third person who tried to help Destinee Mangum is Micah Fletcher.
The 21-year-old fortunately survived and is recovering at a hospital. For those wanting to help, a GoFundMe account was set up to help people donate for his medical bills.
Hate speech victim: 'they died because of me'
A teary-eyed Destinee Mangum looked at the camera in her interviews and expressed her gratitude for the men that helped them.
Her mother was just as thankful.
Although it was not her fault, the teenager cannot help but think that two of the men died because of her and her friend. The suspect was charged with aggravated murder (two counts) and attempted murder. It should be noted that the aggravated murder charge could result in a possible death penalty for Jeremy Christian.
