Portland attack: $600,000 raised for families of 3 US men who defended Muslim teen

It's been three days since Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Ricky John Best lost their lives while Micah David-Cole Fletcher got severely injured in Portland, Oregon while defending a Muslim teenager and her friend on a train. Now according to reports, over $600,000 (£468,000) has been raised for the families of the three Portland men.

Jeremy Joseph Christian, who is the prime suspect, was reportedly yelling anti-Islam slurs at the two young women when the deceased ones intervened. The 35-year-old then pulled out the knife and slit the throats of John Best and Namkai-Mache.

He also seriously injured Fletcher, who is trying to recover after sustaining a knife wound to his neck that his mother said was "a millimetre" from his jugular vein, the BBC reported.

Christian is charged with two counts of aggravated murder, attempted murder, intimidation and being an offender in possession of a restricted weapon. He is due to appear in court on Tuesday (30 May).

However, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that it was still not sure whether Christian – who allegedly said "all Muslims should die" during the attack – should face charges for hate crime.

'Heroes' for the community

The men, who risked their lives while defending the two Muslim teens, have been hailed as "heroes" not only by Destinee Mangum, the 16-year-old who was travelling with her 17-year-old friend when the attack took place, but also by the whole community.

"I just want to say thank you to the people who put their life on the line for me, because they didn't even know me and they lost their lives because of me and my friend and the way we look," she told local channel KPTV.

The 23-year-old Namkai-Meche was a recent college graduate, who had a bright future ahead. His teachers and professors have recalled him as a humble and inquisitive person.

"I still remember where he sat in conference and the types of probing, intelligent questions I could anticipate him asking. He was thoughtful, humble, smart, inquisitive, and compassionate.

"He was a wonderful human being. As good as they come. And now he is a hero to me," one of his professors said about him in a statement released by his college.

John Best was an Army Veteran and City of Portland Employee. The 53-year-old had also served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

After Friday's deadly attack, Best has left behind his wife and four children in their teens.

At least 1,000 people attended a vigil in memory of the "heroes" on Saturday evening. People also poured tributes and messages online in their remembrance, the BBC said.

Oregon governor Kate Brown and Hillary Clinton also paid tribute to the men. The former presidential candidate described their deaths as "heartbreaking" and tweeted: "No one should have to endure this racist abuse.

"No one should have to give their life to stop it."

Trump is yet to acknowledge the incident

A number of people have called on the US President Donald Trump to make a statement about the incident.

Veteran journalist Dan Rather wrote an open letter to Trump, which has been shared more than 100,000 times on Facebook, urging him to acknowledge the bravery of Namkai-Meche and John Best.

Another journalist Rob Davis working with the Oregonian newspaper has also asked Trump if he had anything to say on the attack happened on Friday night.