TriMet bus driver stabbed in NE Portland, 2 suspects arrested

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Two suspects were arrested after a TriMet bus driver was stabbed in Northeast Portland on Monday night, according to Portland police.

Officers arrived near NE 27th Avenue and NE Saratoga Street around 11 p.m., where police say 28-year-old Anna Karen Perez-Velador stabbed a bus driver in the leg.

The bus driver told authorities that they had asked Perez-Velador and 26-year-old Cody Christopher Richardson to exit the bus when the bus reached the end of its line.

Perez-Velador then pulled out a knife and stabbed the driver in the leg, according to officials, and the bus driver exited the bus through the driver’s side window – leaving Perez-Velador standing in the doorway with a knife.

Officers soon located Perez-Velador and Richardson nearby, booking Perez-Velador on charges of assault, menacing, unlawful use of a weapon, coercion, criminal mischief and another existing warrant.

Richardson was also booked for interfering with public transportation and other existing arrest warrants.

Police say the driver and two suspects were alone on the bus at the time of the assault, and the bus driver has already been treated and released by a local hospital.

TriMet says it will work to “hold the assailant accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” as assaulting a bus driver is a felony charge.

“Our hearts are with our operator as they recover from this frightening ordeal,” TriMet said. “Managers are connecting the operator with support service for their mental and emotional wellbeing.”