Pattern of Violence Against the Homeless Continues with August Attack in NW Portland
Pattern of Violence Against the Homeless Continues with August Attack in NW Portland
On August 27 in NW Portland, two homeless individuals were attacked with pepper spray and stabbed by a housed neighbor. The incident is not unique as Oregon has the highest level of attacks on homeless people according to a 2024 report by the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH).
According to the article in Street Roots, witnesses told police the man approached homeless residents who were moving their tents, yelling at them and pepper spraying them. He left briefly, witnesses said, before returning moments later with a knife. The attacker then fled to his home. A several hour standoff ensued with Portland Police
The attacker’s home was just a block from Rose Haven and staff and guests watched the tense standoff. Executive Director of Rose Haven, Katie O’Brien said the attack highlights how vulnerable homeless people are to violence, adding that incidents don’t often happen in the light of day. O’Brien said some guests were traumatized by the situation, while others were not — in a way she said seemed unnatural and likely due to frequent exposure to trauma.
“They’re just used to living outside, and they’re used to living in these high conflict, high stress situations at all times,” O’Brien said. “It was kind of this whole spectrum of experiences people were having.”
“It just reminds us vividly how dangerous it is for people who live outside, and especially women,” she said.“We have to have safe and affordable housing for people,” O’Brien said. “But at the most basic level, if they had been in a shelter, this would not have happened.”
The NCH report said cities’ efforts to criminalize homelessness — now-cemented by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case Grants Pass v. Johnson — opens the door to increased violence due to villainization and forced isolation of homeless people.
“We believe there’s a direct link between these growing criminalization efforts and the increase in violence and vitriol toward people experiencing homelessness,”the report said. “Elected officials must recognize the impact of the decision to criminalize homelessness in their communities.” The incident is unlikely to be charged as a bias crime, because being homeless is not a protected class.
O’Brien said the incident highlights the importance of providing shelter for people so they have a safe place to be — something Mayor Keith Wilson is prioritizing despite neighbors’ pushback. She said it is important for the public to understand that the suspect was a housed person who enacted violence on unhoused people who have no other place to go to find safety — not the other way around.
“We have to have safe and affordable housing for people,” O’Brien said. “But at the most basic level, if they had been in a shelter, this would not have happened.”
Read the entire article here.
