The Woman Singled Out By The Portland Train Killer Honors The Heroism Of The Men Who Defended Her

Destinee Mangum, one of the girls on board the Portland train that saw two men fatally stabbed and another injured has publicly spoken about her fallen heroes and the day that “haunts” her. The 16-year-old, who was being ranted at by a white supremacist before multiple passengers interjected, was with her friend when the suspect Jeremy Joseph Christian began attacking the men that stood up for her.

“He told us to go back to Saudi Arabia and he told us we shouldn’t be here, to get out of his country. He was just telling us that we basically weren’t anything and that we should just kill ourselves.”

Mangum told KPTV: “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.”

Mangum’s appreciation would’ve been welcomed by one of her heroes, Meche, whose reported final words were: “‘Tell them, I want everybody to know, I want everybody on the train to know, I love them.”

The senseless deaths of these men have led to an outpouring of support from around the country, as well as the Muslim community. Various fundraisers have been created to pay for funeral and medical expenses, while tributes have been left around Portland for the heroes. Even after a few hours of silence, President Donald Trump addressed the killings, although it wasn’t from his main account.

Christian was spotted days earlier at a Trump rally, giving the Nazi salute and spewing racially charged slurs. A free speech rally in Portland is scheduled for June 4th, with the organizers disavowing Christian, who was actively aggressive at a previous event organized by them.

(Via CNN/KPTV/KOIN)