Two dead in suspected anti-Muslim incident in U.S.
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 28 May 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Two dead in suspected anti-Muslim incident in U.S., 28 May 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59818daa3.html [accessed 4 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
May 28, 2017 09:03 GMT
Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche
A man in the northwestern U.S. city of Portland is being held on suspicion of stabbing to death two men who were reportedly trying to prevent the assailant from harassing two young women who appeared to be Muslim.
Jeremy Christian was arrested on May 26 and charged with two counts of aggravated murder and one count of aggravated murder for nonlife-threatening injuries inflicted on a third man.
The incident reportedly began when Christian began shouting religious and ethnic slurs at two young women he took to be Muslims on board a commuter train. Police said one of the two young women was wearing a hijab.
Dyjuana Hudson, a mother of one of the women, was quoted by U.S. media as saying that the man began a racial tirade as soon as he spotted them. Her daughter is African-American and was with a female friend who was wearing a hijab, Hudson said.
Police identified the victims as Ricky John Best, 53, of Happy Valley, Oregon, and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, 23, of Portland.
Police said Best died at the scene and that Meche died at a hospital.
The incident occurred just hours before the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement saying anti-Muslim incidents in the United States increased by more than 50 percent from 2015 to 2016 and calling for U.S. President Donald Trump to "speak out personally against the rising tide of Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry."
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
