A woman was stabbed multiple times in front of dozens of witnesses at the Lloyd Center MAX station this afternoon, police and eyewitnesses confirm, and apparently didn't know her assailant.
According to an online account from Mercury food writer Andrea Damewood, the incident occurred at roughly 4 pm, as a full MAX train was waiting at the stop.
Eyewitness accounts say the woman fell onto the tracks and was being helped by bystanders. Meanwhile, Damewood tweets the man made his way around to the MAX train waiting on the eastbound tracks—its operator had left the doors open?—but didn't get on.
Aaaand I just saw a woman get stabbed at the Lloyd MAX stop.
— Andrea Damewood (@adamewood) May 19, 2017
That was terrifying. He was running around with the knife, she was bleeding a lot and was on the tracks. The operator left the doors open
— Andrea Damewood (@adamewood) May 19, 2017
They pulled her off and were applying pressure. Don't know where the stabber went
— Andrea Damewood (@adamewood) May 19, 2017
In future "guy running around platform with knife" scenarios, I'd greatly appreciate the @trimet operator closing the doors
— Andrea Damewood (@adamewood) May 19, 2017
The attacker and victim apparently had come from nearby Holladay Park—a frequent trouble spot in years past.
As of this writing, TriMet says it's not letting people on or off at the Lloyd Center stop.
Here's the police bureau's preliminary account.
As officers were responding to the scene they received additional information that the suspect was near the DoubleTree Hotel across the street. Officers arrived within moments of the 9-1-1 call and contacted the suspect, taking him into custody without incident. A knife was recovered from the scene.
The victim, a female in her late-teens or early-20s, was transported by ambulance to a Portland hospital for treatment to traumatic injuries.
Preliminary information indicates that the suspect and victim did not know each other. The suspect approached the victim, who was with two other young women, and after a brief exchange of words the suspect suddenly attacked the victim, stabbing her multiple times.
UPDATE: MAX Blue, Green and Red line trains not serving Lloyd Center/NE 11th Ave station. Trains stopping at platform but doors won't open.
— TriMet (@trimet) May 19, 2017