Mural Pays Homage To Victims Of May TriMet Attack

PORTLAND, OR — The sacrifice made by three men who stood up to protect two young women on a TriMet train in May 2017 will be memorialized at the Hollywood Transit Center by an artist commissioned by TriMet, transit officials announced Friday.

On May 26, 2017, Jeremy Joseph Christian boarded a TriMet train and allegedly began insulting two black teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab. During the ensuing altercation, the girls tried to step away from Christian, who himself was quickly confronted by MAX train passengers Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Micah David-Cole Fletcher.

After the men confronted him, Christian, 35, shoved Fletcher just before pulling a knife and concealing it in his hand, court documents show.

As Fletcher regained his balance he shoved Christian in return. Christian then came back and allegedly stabbed Fletcher in the neck, inflicting a grievous wound just below his left ear; then Christian reportedly stabbed Namkai-Meche before also stabbing another Samaritan intervener, 53-year-old Army veteran and Portland city employee Ricky Best.

Best died on the MAX. Namkai-Meche died at hospital. Fletcher survived and was able to recover from his wounds.

Now, nearly one year after the horrific attack, the men — and the community's outpouring of support afterward — will be honored with a 2,000-square-foot mural created by a team of artists, educators and activists led by artist Sarah Farahat.

According to TriMet spokeswoman Roberta Altstadt, "As an Egyptian American from a Muslim and Christian family… Farahat was inspired to submit a design for the tribute wall."

"The incident resonated with her on a personal level," Altstadt said in a statement released Friday, noting that grief, connection and community engagement are themes typically explored in Farahat's work. "Farahat’s design for the tribute wall combines color, text and images with community involvement."

One specific phrase uttered by Namkai-Meche as he lay dying, “Tell everyone on this train I love them,” will reportedly be included in the mural, along with phrases written on the transit center walls by members of the community, and "a ‘statement of needs’ created by Beaumont Middle School students during workshops with Farahat and team member Lindsay King," Altstadt said.

Explaining her conceptual design, Farahat reportedly told TriMet officials, “The background colors represent the shift from sunset to night. The Western peony, a native Northwest perennial, winds through the mural. It is known to hold amazing medicinal properties to aid in the grieving process.

"Its process of seeding is visually appealing: The petals drop and the seed pods emerge from the center of the flower," Farahat explained. "On the walls, the peony ultimately blooms and then fruits in the dark background on the large walls facing the light rail platform, symbolizing the strength of standing up for what you believe in despite difficulty."

A poem written in multiple languages will also be included, Altstadt said.

No timeline for the project has been offered, but the mural will reportedly cost roughly $70,000.

Images via Roberta Altstadt, TriMet