A man was stabbed to death Friday evening on a MAX train by another man who later told police he heard voices and thought the victim was trying to kill him or have him killed.
According to court documents and police reports, Michael Brady was sitting across the aisle from another passenger on an eastbound MAX train Friday, March 29, shortly before 6 pm. Brady boarded the train downtown near Pioneer Square, headed toward 82nd Avenue.
At some point, a passenger with a large butcher-style knife abruptly approached and attacked Brady, unprovoked. Brady was stabbed in the shoulder, chest, and abdomen as the train approached the 82nd Ave transit center. He died at the scene.
Police have since arrested 51-year-old Shondel Larkin on charges of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.
In a probable cause affidavit, police say Larkin told them he hears voices that often bother him.
Larkin said he previously took medication for a mental health condition, but hadn’t taken it since January.
On the day of the fatal attack, the suspect said he observed Brady sitting on the train with earbuds in and thought Brady was communicating with someone else about him. He reportedly told police he believed that people were trying to kill him because he is a sex offender.
Larkin stayed on the train after the attack and cooperated with commands from police to drop his knife. He was arrested and arraigned Monday.
Court documents show Larkin faced prior charges for rape or attempted rape in California in 2006. He is listed on a jail booking form as houseless.
TriMet has yet to release any statement or address the murder on the MAX train. Police declined to say whether TriMet released any surveillance footage to police, citing an active investigation.
Friday’s violent attack isn’t the first time a passenger was injured or killed while riding public transit.
In 2017, two MAX train passengers- Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche-died after being stabbed on the train by Jeremy Christian. Another passenger, Micah Fletcher, was also stabbed by Christian, but survived his injuries.
Christian, a white supremacist, began spouting racist rants while riding a train in late May 2017. Witnesses said Christian was verbally harassing two teen girls on the train, one of which was wearing a hijab. After another passenger tried to get Christian to leave the train, an altercation ensued and Christian pulled a knife on Namkai-Meche. When Best tried to intervene, he was also stabbed. The day before that attack, Christian harassed a Black woman, Demetria Hester, who maced Christian. After she exited the train, Christian threw a half-full Gatorade bottle at her face, injuring her eye.
