Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Friday, April 19, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

One Dead, 3 Stabbed in Portland, Oregon Suburb

A 20-year-old attacker carried out a series of stabbings and carjackings at a suburban Portland shopping center and nearby town Wednesday, killing one person and wounding three others before being arrested, authorities said.

BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) — A 20-year-old attacker carried out a series of stabbings and carjackings at a suburban Portland shopping center and nearby town Wednesday, killing one person and wounding three others before being arrested, authorities said.

Police in Beaverton said two people were stabbed inside a Wells Fargo bank and a man was stabbed at a gym next door.

After the stabbings, the assailant stole the man's car and drove to the suburb of Tigard, where he stole another woman's car and stabbed her, Officer Matt Henderson said at a news conference. He eventually got out of the car and ran from officers before being caught.

A woman who was killed was a bank customer, Wells Fargo spokesman David Kennedy said. Another woman was critically injured there, and the two people whose cars were stolen had serious injuries, authorities said.

"This was a horrific crime, and our hearts go out to those victims and their families," Beaverton Police Chief Ronda Groshong said. "This is an ongoing investigation with several crime scenes. ... It's going to take a while to process."

Beaverton police identified the alleged attacker as Salvador Martinez-Romero, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. He is in jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and robbery. It was not immediately known if he has a lawyer. Police did not release any details about the motive for the attacks, if any.

Noushin Luluvachi from nearby Bella Salon told the newspaper that police cars flooded the plaza and authorities ordered businesses to keep their doors closed.

Dillon Prickett said he pulled up to a coffee shop next to the bank and saw officers going inside. Prickett, a 35-year-old from the town of Aloha, saw a badly injured woman being brought out on a stretcher.

"She had so much bandaging on her face," he told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Beaverton, west of Portland, is known for being Nike's headquarters.

Categories / Criminal

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...