Man attacked on Portland waterfront ‘unprovoked’ while fishing

By Amal Elhelw

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    PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — A man was attacked on the Portland waterfront Tuesday morning with some sort of stick, according to Portland police. Xinmin Liang suffered a concussion, swollen eye and broken arm. His family said he was there fishing like he does many mornings and now they’re left wondering who attacked him and why.

His daughter, Jie Liang, said her dad went down to the waterfront to see if the fish had come out for spring yet when he was brutally attacked “for no reason.”

“This white guy, about five-foot-seven, five-foot-eight with a blue beanie, just came up to him without saying a word. Picked up a thick, fat wood stick and started pounding on him and punching him so hard,” Jie Liang said.

She said her dad used his arm to protect his head, but he still suffered massive blows to the face and walked away with both bones in his left arm broken. The family said an ER doctor told them if Xinmin didn’t protected his head the way he did, he’d likely be dead.

“When I first saw him, it was terrifying, blood all over his face. And his eye is swollen like a golf ball size, it was so terrifying,” Jie Liang said.

Jie Liang said after the attack, her dad ended up taking a max train to a downtown library where he called his wife for help. The two of them then walked back to their apartment in southwest Portland where someone helped them call 911.

“My dad does not speak English. He didn’t think he could call 911 on his own at the spot where he got attacked,” Jie Liang explained.

With surgery scheduled to fix Xinmin’s arm on Monday, now his daughter is left wondering who did this to her dad and why.

“My dad said he doesn’t know why because the man just came up without saying a word and started attacking,” she said.

Portland police said the case has been assigned to a detective but at this point it’s not being investigated as a bias crime, though Jie Liang said she and her family can’t help but wonder if that could have been a potential motive.

“We just want to tell all the Asian community, especially the ones with senior parents, with them in town. Just be careful. Don’t go to places that’s nobody around and alone. Because right now Portland doesn’t feel really safe,” she said.

Jie Liang said police reached out to her the next day to ask her father to look at a photo they had of a potential suspect who’s been accused of this type of attack before. Her dad said it could be the same person but he’s not entirely sure.

If you have any information that could help the investigation, you’re asked to contact the Portland Police Bureau.

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