PORTLAND, Ore. — Four years have passed since convicted murderer Jeremy Christian stabbed three men, two of whom lost their lives, on a TriMet MAX train in Portland.
On Wednesday afternoon, some gathered at the Hollywood Transit Center for an event that was promoted to start with a vigil at 4 p.m. followed by a march 'in solidarity with the victims of the 2017 Portland Max stabbing.'
Flowers were displayed throughout the transit center where there's a mural in honor of the victims. People also left signs Wednesday that said "in memory of our Trimet Heroes" and stickers that read "we choose love."
Asha Deliverance, the mother of one of the men who died, was at the memorial leaving flowers. She described her son Taliesin Namkai-Meche as 'brilliant' and said "I don't feel like he's lost at all."
"I'm mainly here because I just want to keep his message alive and strong which is to drop the discrimination and the judgement and choose love," Deliverance said.
Nearly a year ago, on June 24, 2020, Christian was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release or parole. Fourth months earlier, following a trial that lasted nearly a month, a jury unanimously found Christian guilty on 12 counts, including murder and attempted murder, as well as assault and intimidation.
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On May 26, 2017, Christian, who was riding on an eastbound Green Line MAX train, went on an expletive-laced rant about religion, race and politics.
Two Black teen girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab, felt targeted by the attack and relocated in the train to create space between them and Christian.
An altercation followed between Christian and two other passengers, Micah Fletcher and Namkai-Meche, as the train pulled up to the Hollywood Transit station.
Christian took a 4-inch knife from the pocket of his shorts and stabbed Fletcher, Namkai-Meche and another passenger, Ricky Best, within just 11 seconds. Best and Namkai-Meche died. Fletcher was gravely wounded, but survived. The knife barely missed a main artery that would have killed him.
During last year's trial, prosecutors said the stabbing clearly wasn't spur-of-the-moment, as they showed videos of Christian the night before the stabbing, referencing wanting to stab and kill people. A Portland police detective who interviewed Christian testified he was aware of what he did shortly after the stabbing.