Police in Portland, Ore., are asking the public for help identifying a man they say is responsible for a particularly callous act of theft.
According to the Portland Police Department, the man stole a wedding ring, backpack, and other personal belongings from one of the victims of the deadly stabbing aboard a Portland train last Friday.
“The backpack and wedding ring belong to victim Ricky Best,” reads a statement from the Portland Police Bureau, Homicide Division. “The contents of the backpack include personal items important to the Best family.”
Jeremy Joseph Christian, 53, is accused of stabbing to death Ricky Best, 53, and Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23, on a Portland MAX commuter train last Friday.
Prosecutors say the two men were attacked after they confronted a man who was harassing two young black women, one of whom wore a Muslim head covering. Police say Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, was also stabbed in the attack but is expected to survive his wounds.
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“I hope we rise to the memory of these two gentlemen who lost their lives,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said Wednesday.
“Let’s do them honour by standing with them and carrying on their legacy of standing up to hate and bigotry and violence.”
Police say the man pictured in the video stole personal belongings from Best, including his wedding ring, before fleeing the train.
In the video, captured on security cameras at a Portland train station, the man is seen quickly getting off the train carrying two black backpacks – one of which police identify as having belonged to Best.
Detectives are hopeful someone can identify the man, or that he will see the video and turn himself in.
Anyone with information as to the suspect’s identity is urged to contact Portland police immediately.
-With files from the Associated Press
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