A man was stabbed multiple times outside downtown Portland’s Central Library on Monday afternoon, according to the Portland Police Bureau, sparking more debate around public safety downtown.
In this February 2024 photo, provided by Multnomah County Library, the central branch in downtown Portland is pictured.
Courtesy of Bob Kerns/Multnomah County Library
Police said the 44-year-old man had just left the library at about 5 p.m., when he witnessed a disturbance and tried to intervene. They said he was attacked by three people, one of whom stabbed him while the others hit him with skateboards.
The man was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to survive.
The suspects left the scene before police arrived, but officers tracked them to Northeast Portland’s Holladay Park area and arrested them. All three face charges of second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon.
The Portland Police Bureau thanked library staff and security, transit police and others for helping with the response to the attack. It was the second high-profile attack near the library in less than two months.
Following a fatal shooting near Central Library on July 1, the library closed temporarily and announced new security measures would be put in place.
“The library and County workplace security are increasing security officer foot patrols, priority monitoring of Central library cameras by the County’s central security office and continued efforts to inhibit and report drug use and distribution,” library officials said in a July 3 press release. The library also noted it contracts with security officers to monitor inside and around the building.
Despite the announcement of the new security protocols, the safety of people in and around the library is an ongoing issue. Community leaders, including Portland Metro Chamber CEO Andrew Hoan, are demanding action from the county to address the violence.
“Just two months after a deadly shooting at that library which rocked our community, another victim was stabbed multiple times by assailants yesterday,” Hoan said in a statement Tuesday. “Today, we learned that once again, the attackers came from inside with undetected weapons ... How many more people must be hurt or killed until the county takes decisive action?”
Hoan directly called out Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson in his statement, saying she has been complacent on issues around the library.
In a statement on social media, Pederson described Hoan’s criticisms as an “out of touch” political attack. She also praised library staff and Portland police for their response to the stabbing.
