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$840,000 has been raised for the families of Portland 'heroes'

Two men died and a third was severely injured in a stabbing incident, police said.
Two men died and a third was severely injured in a stabbing incident, police said. Two men died and a third was severely injured in a stabbing incident, police said.

Three separate fundraising campaigns have raised over $840,000 (£655,000) for the families of two men who were killed after apparently standing up for a Muslim girl and her friend in Portland.

Two men died and a third was injured after a man allegedly began yelling racial slurs at two young women, one who was wearing a hijab, on a train in the American city.

A campaign launched by the city’s Muslim Educational Trust has so far raised more than $330,000 for the families of 53-year-old Ricky John Best and 23-year-old Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche.

Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, was severely injured and a separate campaign to support him has received almost $140,000 in donations. Destinee Mangum told FOX 12 that she and her 17-year-old friend were riding the train when a man approached them yelling what is described as hate speech.Mangum said the man told them “to go back to Saudi Arabia” and told them to get out of “his country.”The 16-year-old said her friend is Muslim, but she is not.

Wajdi Said, president and co-founder of the Muslim Educational Trust (Gillian Flaccus/AP)
Wajdi Said, president and co-founder of the Muslim Educational Trust (Gillian Flaccus/AP)
Wajdi Said, president and co-founder of the Muslim Educational Trust (Gillian Flaccus/AP)

The Muslim-led campaign’s page reads: “We wish to respond to hate with love, to evil with good, as our faith instructs us, and send a powerful message of compassion through action.“No amount of money will bring back the victims, but we do hope to lessen their family’s burdens in some way and also show our heartfelt appreciation for their heroic acts against Islamophobia. Let’s all stand together against hate.”Police arrested 35-year-old Jeremy Christian, who is being held on suspicion of aggravated murder and attempted murder. The FBI and US Attorney for Oregon are working with police in Portland on the investigation.