Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of suicide and mental health issues. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
The Multnomah Athletic Club will remain closed for at least a week as staff works to repair damage caused when a man drove an explosives-laden vehicle through the front of the clubhouse building.
“Our immediate priority is ensuring the club is safe and ready to welcome you back,” MAC staff said in a statement posted to social media Sunday afternoon. “That work is now in motion, but it will take some time.”
A Portland police officer stands by outside the Multnomah Athletic Club after a vehicle containing explosive devices crashed into the MAC on May 2, 2026.
Eli Imadali / OPB
A source with direct knowledge of the investigation told OPB that officials suspect a former employee at the MAC as the driver in the attack.
That employee was allegedly disgruntled and had a history of mental health issues, said the source, who agreed to discuss the active investigation on condition they not be named.
The driver rammed through glass windows at the front of the 135-year-old eight-story MAC building just before 3 a.m. Saturday, then drove his vehicle around the club’s ground floor as he attempted to set off explosions, Portland Police Commander James Crooker said Saturday.
“There was an intent to detonate a number of explosive devices that just didn’t go off,” Crooker said. “The interior is not as damaged as it could have been.
By the time law enforcement arrived on the scene, the driver was dead inside his vehicle.
The Oregonian/OregonLive identified the suspected driver by name based on unidentified police sources.
OPB interviewed neighbors of that person, who said they also believe he drove the vehicle that crashed into the MAC Saturday.
OPB has not been able to independently confirm the identity of the suspect.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office would not confirm The Oregonian’s report and referred OPB to the county court system for more details. Court officials did not reply to requests for public records about the alleged suspect filed Sunday.
Neighbors of the person identified by The Oregonian, who lived in North Portland, told OPB that he suffered from mental health issues stemming from a motorcycle crash several years ago. One neighbor said his behavior “became extremely paranoid and delusional and aggressive.”
That neighbor, who requested anonymity due to concerns about her safety, said she witnessed the man walking around the neighborhood naked while banging on people’s doors, throwing rocks at his dog and damaging nearby properties.
He also frequently discussed the Multnomah Athletic Club and his fears that its staff were spying on him, she said.
She said she testified in a stalking case someone else brought against the man. The Oregonian reported Sunday that a judge had granted a stalking order request against the man in 2021. The neighbor said she tried to secure him mental health treatment, but to no avail.
“I spent so much time trying to talk to the police, trying to convince them of how dangerous he was,” she said. “It was like a full-time job for a while.”
Portland police responded Sunday to a request to comment on the suspected attacker saying they would not have any updates until his name is released by the medical examiner’s office.
Another neighbor, Fern Capella Allen, lived next door to the man for five years. She said police arrived at his home around 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon to serve a warrant on the property, while a bomb squad cleared the property.
It was clear that he suffered from mental health issues, she said.
“I think that he was a really beautiful person that was suffering badly,” Capella Allen said. “He got in his mind that these people had wronged him, and he just devolved mentally.”
She said she last saw him Friday afternoon. He was working in his front yard, which he had been renovating for much of the past two weeks. Several hours later, the Multnomah Athletic Club was attacked
“I wish that I had been even more compassionate with him,” Capella Allen said with tears in her eyes, adding that her neighbor told her he’d attempted suicide in February. “I don’t feel anything, but just sorrow for him and his family.”
A challenging scene for law enforcement
Inside the entryway of the MAC’s first story, roughly 2 inches of water flooded the floor after firefighters worked to douse the early Saturday morning flames. It was also charred by burn marks from the devices the driver was able to ignite, Police Commander Crooker said.
Those un-denonated devices proved challenging for Portland’s bomb squad, which was joined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Portland police officer Jim DeFrain, supervisor of the explosive disposal unit, said Saturday that crews used robots to move potential explosives, and that they continued to find new improvised explosives and incendiaries as they worked. He described the scene as the most complex he’s encountered in 13 years with the city.
But despite the scale of the threat, Police Chief Bob Day said Saturday that the attack was not connected to terrorism.
The MAC building houses multiple restaurants, swimming pools, ballrooms, and meeting rooms, and regularly hosts sporting events and community gatherings. Those are all on hold until the clubhouse reopens — and it will reopen, according to staff.
“We’ve faced challenging moments before, and each time, this community has come together and found a way forward,” staff wrote online. “That same strength will carry us through this as well.”
This is a developing story. Watch for updates.
