PORTLAND, Ore. — There was a long line of houseless individuals looking for lunch at Blanchet House in Portland's Old Town neighborhood on Thursday afternoon. Noticeably absent from the line was a Portland resident who goes by the name Scotty.
"We knew Scotty well, not only because he came to us a lot but he was a very unique and interesting individual," said Scott Kerman, executive director at Blanchet House.
Scotty liked to dress in women's clothing, he said, and it was something Scotty took a lot of pride and joy in. It's unknown if that was the motive behind what happened Monday night.
Kerman said Scotty was lying under a tree outside the Blanchet House when he was stabbed repeatedly, in what appeared to be an unprovoked attack.
"We do know these are life-threatening injuries and we're hoping and praying for a recovery, but some of us have seen video of the attack and it was quite savage and brutal," Kerman said.
The viciousness of the attack made it all the more important for police to track down the suspect.
Officers arrested Spencer Kilpatrick near Northwest 6th Avenue and Glisan Street Wednesday. In court Thursday, the 27-year-old Kilpatrick pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon.
"Something like this is extra horrific for us," Kerman said. "It's a true tragedy."
It also shines a light on the pervasive violence and terror experienced by people living on the streets of Old Town, he said.
"It just escalates the trauma," Kerman said. "It compounds the trauma of being homeless. It compounds the trauma that in truth led a lot of these people to where they are today, and this is something that's not talked about enough."