PORTLAND, Ore. — A hostage situation on a MAX train prompted a heavy police presence near Cascade Station on Tuesday afternoon. One man was taken into custody, a spokesperson for the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) said.
Around 2:20 p.m., officers responded to the Mount Hood Avenue transit center by Cascade Station, not far from Portland International Airport (PDX), for a call about a disturbance on a MAX Red Line train.
A man was holding two people hostage — the MAX operator and a passenger — and he was armed with a knife and what appeared to be a "hot dog skewer," Comm. Tina Jones said in a press conference.
"Obviously dangerous implements, and there was concern for the safety of the lives onboard the train," Jones said.
Jones said the man, later identified as 41-year-old Marcus Dwaine Tate, been in custody the night before the incident after a physical altercation with police during which he'd been in an apparent mental health crisis. She said he was placed on a police hold at a local hospital until Tuesday morning and was released.
After attempting to negotiate with the suspect, who at one point referred to the MAX conductor and passenger as "hostages," Jones said officers with PPB's Special Emergency Reaction Team used two flash bangs to debilitate him and take him into custody.
Tate was transported to Multnomah County jail for booking on charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree robbery, coercion, menacing, unlawful use of a weapon, harassment and interfering with public transportation.
"These are the nightmare calls that we never want to have but that we train for, and I'm very, very proud of my team, obviously all the teams that came out today," Jones said.
The situation temporarily disrupted MAX Red Line service between the Gateway Transit Center and Portland International Airport. TriMet said delays were expected to continue through 5:45 p.m.
TriMet's Transit Police Division, which is managed by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, is handling the investigation.