The Story of the 2017 Racist Portland Train Murders that Killed Two People

In 2017, on a train in Portland, a Racist Extremist stabbed three men after being confronted by the men because he was shouting racist things at two black girls that were on the train.

Two of the men were killed. One was called Ricky Best and the other one was Taliesin Namkai-Meche. Micah Fletcher survived while the other two died on the train.

The brutal attack on the train was criticized all over the state and Christian was found guilty and sentenced to two life terms.

The Moment of the Attack

Around 4.30 P.M, Jeremy Christian stabbed two people on the train to death and one other person that was heavily injured after he was confronted by the men about his racist and hateful comments to two black girls on the train.

There was a witness that told the police about the things the man had said 'anti-muslim' texts and he said:

"I am a taxpayer and colored people are ruining the city."

He also claimed that he had First Amendment rights and he spoke about a lot of confusing things.

At the time of occurring the train was very crowded, the whole train was full and some people were standing. The operator noticed that the man was causing some disturbance and noise in the train and requested him to stop and leave the train. The man didn't stop with his tirade and said that "Muslims should die."

The two girls he pointed these words at were scared and moved to the back of the train as the three men started to intervene. They hoped they could prevent this situation from escalating. They asked him very clearly to get off the train, one of the guys pushed the man a bit whereafter he threatened him to kill him.

After that Christian stabbed Best and Namkai-Meche to death and Fletcher got injured. The two men were cut in their necks and as soon as they reached a nearby station all the passengers got off, as well as Christian where people that were standing around him called the police and chased him when he fled.

Rose Quarter Transit CenterBecause directly after Fletcher was stabbed people around him performed first aid he was able to survive. The other two men were fatally hit and Best died in the train as Namkai-Meche died in the hospital after several revival attempts.

After the attack, the trains were shut down for a couple of hours in all directions. The police were able to catch Christian and a large group of police officers arrested him at 4.48 P.M.

During the arrest, Christian threw a knife that hit a car. Once he was arrested he was sent to jail at the police station.

The Investigation and Prosecution

Christian was sent to the Multnomah Country Jail and the FBI helped the Portland Police with this investigation. They found out that at the place where the train stopped, there was a homeless camp located and one of the inhabitants called George Tschaggeny stole the wedding band and wallet of Best.

This man was arrested and convicted of Identity Theft and Second-degree abuse of a corpse. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to thirteen months to jail and drug treatment because he was/is a heavy drug addict.

Christian got charged with two murders and one attempted murder. He also was charged with two counts of intimidation and possessing a restricted gun. When he entered the courtroom on the 30th of May 2017 he started screaming a bunch of different slogans.

Christian pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. On the first of November in 2019, a new state bill passed that caused the charges to be downgraded to a first-degree murder that would prevent him from getting the death penalty.

At the trial, the prosecutors presented a testimony that counted forty witnesses. A homicide detective also testified after interviewing Fletcher, who survived the stabbing.

Christian didn't testify himself and the attorneys closed arguments on the 19th of February 2020. On the 24th of June, he was sentenced to two life terms, he had no chance at parole. He was removed from the courtroom after he started screaming during the sentencing.

Originally Published on Medium