In Portland, Oregon, where the homeless problem has apparently mushroomed during the stewardship of Mayor Ted Wheeler, a 32-year-old homeless woman allegedly shoved an innocent 3-year-old child from behind on the platform, hurling her to the railway track below.
The incident occurred on the evening of December 28 at the Gateway Transit Center MAX platform in Northeast Portland, where a mother and her 3-year-old child, who was wearing a pink coat, were waiting for a MAX train.
“Brianna Lace Workman, 32, was arraigned on Attempted Assault in the First Degree, Assault in the Third Degree, Interfering with Public Transportation, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree and Recklessly Endangering Another Person,” the Multnomah County District Attorney declared.
“The child landed face-first onto the metal rail and rocks before being quickly rescued from the train tracks,” the District Attorney’s office reported. “The child reported a severe headache and had a small red mark on their forehead after the incident.”
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office requested Workman remain in custody and be held without bail. But Workman’s attorney stated, “At Ms. Workman’s request, I am not requesting her release at this time, but I am objecting to the state’s motion of preventative detention,” the Daily Mail reported.
Last May, Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) noted data showing homelessness had risen 30% since 2019. “The extent of homelessness in the community isn’t static, and the number of people experiencing homelessness who need services over the course of a year is much larger than any one-night number,” the county stated.
Last January, a 70-year-old nurse was hit in the face at a Los Angeles bus stop by a homeless person, officials said. Nurse Sandra Shells was hit in the face by a homeless man while at a downtown L.A. bus stop and fell to the ground, where she suffered a fractured skull, before dying at a hospital.
Today, LAPD Central Area delivered a floral arrangement to LAUSCMC Staff in memory of ER Nurse Sandra Shells, who was violently punched, knocked to the ground and passed away, a senseless VIOLENT crime. RIP.@LAPDChiefMoore @LAPDGirmala @LabradaAl pic.twitter.com/TWYWPFS3qR
— LAPD CAPT E. MORALES (@LAPDCaptMorales) January 17, 2022
Two days later, a homeless man pushed a 40-year-old woman onto the New York City subway tracks, where she was struck by an oncoming train. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect, whom the police believed to be homeless, was later apprehended.
In mid-October, a homeless man was arrested in Long Beach, California, after allegedly stabbing four people and murdering one; four days prior to that incident, a homeless man in the Los Angeles area was seen stabbing a woman’s head with a pair of gardening shears.