As people from all around kicked off their holiday weekend Friday afternoon, chaos broke out on a Portland commuter train.
35-year-old Jeremy Joseph Christian reportedly started yelling what “would best be characterized as hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions” at two teenaged girls on the Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) light-rail train.
16-year-old Destinee Magnum was one of those targeted.
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“He told us to go back to Saudi Arabia and he told us we shouldn’t be here, to get out of his country,” Destinee explained to reporters. ”He was just telling us that we basically weren’t anything and that we should just kill ourselves.”
The girls were frightened by Christian’s verbal outburst and made their way to the back of the train. It was then that three men, who are now being called heroes, intervened on their behalf.
53-year-old Ricky John Best, 23-year-old Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and 21-year-old Micah David-Cole Fletcher came to the girls’ defense, telling Christian that he can’t talk to them that way, and that he’s out of line.
An argument broke out among the men before Christian pulled a knife.
“Me and my friend were going to get off the MAX and then we turned around while they were fighting and he just started stabbing people,” Destinee said. “It was just blood everywhere and we just started running for our lives.”
Several passengers called 911 and chased after the suspect—alerting authorities of Christian’s whereabouts. Others, like Rachel Macy, stayed behind to tend to the victims.
Ricky John Best and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche both died on scene. Micah David-Cole Fletcher suffered serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
Rachel had been with 23-year-old Meche in his final moments. The two strangers did not know each other before the stabbing, but he’s imprinted on her heart forever.
“I just didn’t want him to be alone,” Rachel said. “I took my shirt off and put it on him. We held it together, I just prayed, all I could do was pray.”
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“I told him, ‘You’re a beautiful man. I’m so sorry the world is so cruel,'” she said.
Meche then said to her, “Tell them—I want everybody to know—I want everybody on the train to know, I love them.”
And Rachel has done just that.
Touched by his words, and his heart that was so obviously filled with kindness for others, Rachel attended a vigil on Saturday where she was able to share his final words with Meche’s mourning family and thousands of community members who joined together to honor and remember the young man who sacrificed his life for another.
“Love is what it’s about,” Meche’s mother, Asha Deliverance, said at the vigil. “We taught him to love everyone and that’s what we should be doing and that’s what we all should be doing and that’s why we are all here, so give it up for love.”
Rachel’s life has been changed forever because of the few minutes she spent with Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche.
Ricky John Best was a U.S. army veteran who served 23 years in the military. The father of four had three teenaged sons and a 12-year-old daughter.
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He honored our country, and served faithfully for our freedom. We remember him in wake of Memorial Day, knowing that he paid the ultimate sacrifice for two young girls he’d never met. Being the man that he was, I have no doubt he’d do it all over again.
Destinee Magnum and her friend are alive today because of the bravery, boldness and selflessness of three strangers, who simply believed in loving your neighbor and standing up for what is right.
The 16-year-old thanked the three men in a press conference on Sunday.
“I just want to say thank you to the people who put their life on the line for me,” Magnum told reporters through tears. “Because they didn’t even know me and they lost their lives because of me and my friend and the way we look.”
Police are still investigating the background and motives of Christian.
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He’s been charged with two counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted murder, all felonies. According to police, he was also charged with misdemeanors: two counts of second-degree intimidation and a count of being a felon in possession of a restricted weapon.
Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the victims, the passengers on the MAX and the Portland community as they move forward from the evil that unfolded on Friday. There is no doubt that all three men are heroes, and we’re praying for Fletcher’s recovery.
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