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Jim Ryan

Two people stabbed to death after trying to stop anti-Muslim rant, say US police

Police don’t know if the man has mental health issues or if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.

TWO PEOPLE DIED yesterday and another was hurt in a stabbing on a Portland light-rail train after a man yelled racial slurs at two young women who appeared to be Muslim, one of whom was wearing a hijab, police said.

Officers arrested a man yesterday afternoon who ran from the train, The Oregonian reported. Police were still working last night to identify the man and the people who were attacked.

Before the stabbing the assailant on the train was ranting on many topics, using “hate speech or biased language,” and then turned his focus on the women, police Sergeant Pete Simpson said.

“In the midst of his ranting and raving, some people approached him and appeared to try to intervene with his behavior and some of the people that he was yelling at,” Simpson told The Oregonian. “They were attacked viciously.”

Fatal Stabbing Portland Jim Ryan / The Oregonian via AP Jim Ryan / The Oregonian via AP / The Oregonian via AP

One person was dead at the scene and another died at a hospital, Simpson said. The third person was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

It wasn’t clear why the man was yelling, Simpson said.

“He was talking about a lot of different things, not just specifically anti-Muslim,” Simpson said.

Police don’t know if the man has mental health issues or if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.

The attack happened on a MAX train as it headed east. A train remained stopped on the tracks at a transit center which was closed while police investigated.

Fatal Stabbing Portland Jim Ryan via AP Jim Ryan via AP

Evelin Hernandez, a 38-year-old resident of Clackamas, Oregon, told the newspaper she was on the train when the man began making racist remarks to the women.

A group of men tried to quiet him and he stabbed them, she said.

Simpson said the women understandably left the scene before police were able to talk with them but that they would like to hear from them to help fill in what happened.

“It’s horrific,” Simpson said. “There’s no other word to describe what happened today.”

Millions of Muslims marked the start of Ramadan yesterday, a time of intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts.

Read: Katie Hopkins to leave job at London radio station after calling for ‘final solution’ to Manchester attack

Read: Compassion, defiance, gratitude, grief – but no place for hatred in our Manchester

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Jul 26th 2022, 12:25 AM

    Ahhhhhhh its a great little country ain’t it. No future for any young person/s looking to get on the housing ladder. Because when ye eventually get the holy grail loan approved ye be gazzumpd by the the very people who offered ye the house in the first place.KIP.

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    Mute Marc Johns
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    Jul 26th 2022, 2:42 AM

    The Davos Wokes, of which Leo is a ‘young global leader’ have told you straight up that you will own nothing and you WILL be happy about it. What part of this is confusing or continually a surprise for people?

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    Mute Ciaran Burke
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    Jul 26th 2022, 12:50 AM

    No way. Who would have thought that if you price gouged people, they wouldn’t have money to spend in the local economy? Well, colour me surprised.

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    Mute Billy Davies
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    Jul 26th 2022, 8:55 AM

    @Ciaran Burke: yep, the best time to by a house is now, as the property gurus would say…

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    Mute Irish Opinion
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    Jul 26th 2022, 6:13 AM

    This is where the government will stand in and pay the rest so they can take equity and keep the prices high for their developer friends.

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    Mute marian
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    Jul 26th 2022, 7:20 AM

    Ireland is overrated!

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    Mute Mickety Dee
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    Jul 26th 2022, 7:25 AM

    @marian: Well the comments section would give you the impression it’s a third world country

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    Mute Christine Hanway
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    Jul 26th 2022, 8:26 AM

    @Mickety Dee: well if you look at our housing and health depts, it keeps going the way it is it won’t be far off.

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    Mute Claudia Varell
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    Jul 26th 2022, 8:39 AM

    @Mickety Dee: When you look at the infrastructure and the health system, Ireland is closer to African countries than to continental Europe. The quality of life is higher than in most EU countries, but the standard of life is much lower.

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    Mute Sequoia
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    Jul 26th 2022, 10:52 AM

    Never had an issue with the health department.

    Apart from the occasional wait in A&E – longest was 10 hours, while annoying, was totally understandable due to patient prioritisation.

    Yes there’s too many managers, yes money gets wasted, yea, the staff are underpaid & overworked, but when you think of the volume of people they’re seeing, it’s probably not that much based on percentages.

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Jul 26th 2022, 11:28 AM

    No one can solve the Housing crisis until the promised Referendum on Housing is run and passed asap.

    There is no provision in the Irish Constitution, unlike other advanced democracies, on the importance of affordable and secure housing ownership or rental and this is having dreadful consequences on many ordinary people who are left without the security of their own home.

    The Referendum must be run asap to enable all the legislation needed to remove the barriers to affordable homes. VAT alone is €28,000 on a new home – obscene. 37% of the price of new homes is “artificial” and can be removed by a Referendum.

    https://www.change.org/p/irish-referendum-on-family-home-special-status

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