Beaverton Police Arrest Man After Butterknife Attack On MAX Train

BEAVERTON, OR — Police on Tuesday night announced the arrest of a man who reportedly assaulted a TriMet MAX train passenger with a butterknife, causing a small laceration on the passenger's ear.

Enrique Zacarias Diaz, 24, has been taken to the Washington County Jail on charges of assault, unlawful use of a weapon, menacing, escape, and criminal mischief — of which the latter two charges came after his arrest by Beaverton police officers. He is being held on $25,000 bail.

Shortly before 8:30 p.m. June 6, officers were called to the TriMet Beaverton Transit Center, located at 4050 S.W. Lombard Ave., in response to a reported assault with a knife on a MAX train. The male victim told police that when the train stopped and the doors opened, Diaz allegedly came through slashing at him several times with a butterknife, striking him in the ear.

Diaz reportedly ran away after the assault but was quickly found by police, according to BPD spokesman Mike Rowe.

Rowe told Patch Wednesday morning that after his arrest, Diaz attempted to run away from officers but was again quickly apprehended — leading to the escape charge. And after being taken into custody and loaded into a police cruiser, Diaz then slipped his handcuffs and urinated in the backseat — which led to the criminal mischief charge.

The victim's injury did not require emergency transport, Rowe said, though he was advised to look into getting "a stitch or two" for his ear. Rowe also said the crime was thought to be stranger-on-stranger and that drugs were "suspected to be a contributing factor in this incident."

Photo Courtesy: Washington County Sheriff's Office