Old Town Burn Attack Kills 54-Year-Old Man, Portland Police Hunt Suspect Who Fled

A 54-year-old man has died from severe burns he suffered in an attack on a busy stretch of Northwest Portland, and police have opened a homicide investigation as they search for whoever set him on fire and ran. Anthony “Tony” Knights was found near Northwest Davis Street and Naito Parkway with burns covering a large area of his body on the night of August 18, and he died four days later while still hospitalized.

Central Precinct officers with the Portland Police Bureau were dispatched at roughly 11:30 p.m. that Tuesday to reports of a fire-related incident at the intersection, according to the Portland Police Bureau. Officers located Knights suffering from severe thermal injuries and requested emergency medical transport; he was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, per the bureau's account. Police say the suspect had already fled the scene, and an exhaustive search of the surrounding area failed to turn up the attacker, as first reported by KOIN.com.

Knights remained hospitalized for four days before he died of his injuries on August 22, police said. His family has since been notified, and they released a photo of him to the public as investigators continue working the case. A medical examiner's autopsy confirmed his official cause of death as homicide resulting from the severe burns.

Joint Police-Fire Team Takes Over the Case

The investigation is now being run jointly by the Portland Police Bureau's Homicide Unit and the Portland Fire Investigations Unit, a specialized team drawing personnel from both PPB and Portland Fire & Rescue, according to the Portland Tribune. That structure reflects the forensic demands of a burn-related homicide, which requires accelerant and fire-origin analysis alongside standard detective work. Investigators have assigned the case reference number 26-241822 and are asking anyone with tips to email [email protected], per KGW.

It is the same joint unit that was deployed earlier in August to investigate the four-alarm fire that destroyed the historic Centennial Mills warehouse complex several blocks away in the 1300 block of Northwest Naito Parkway, a blaze that required forensic K9 teams to search for human remains, the bureau noted in an earlier release. No connection between that fire and Knights' death has been reported.

A Corridor With a Recent History of Violence

The stretch of Naito Parkway near the Steel Bridge has drawn repeated police and fire responses this year. In May, an assault on the 700 block of NW Naito Parkway left a woman hospitalized with life-threatening injuries and led to attempted murder charges against a 64-year-old suspect, as Hoodline previously reported. The Old Town-Chinatown area along Tom McCall Waterfront Park sees heavy foot traffic but registers elevated per-capita violent crime metrics compared to national averages, according to CrimeGrade.org.

That local pattern comes even as Portland's overall homicide numbers have trended sharply downward. The city recorded 52 homicides in 2025, a rate of roughly 8 per 100,000 residents and a steep drop from the historic peak of 97 homicides in 2022, Hoodline has reported. Citywide violent crime fell by approximately 17 percent during the first half of 2025 compared to the same period a year earlier, per data cited by Reolink, though downtown and Old Town blocks continue to account for a disproportionate share of police responses.

What Charges Could Look Like

If a suspect is identified and arrested, prosecutors could evaluate charges ranging from first-degree arson to second-degree murder. Under Oregon Revised Statute 163.115, criminal homicide becomes second-degree murder when committed intentionally or during the commission of first-degree arson, and the state's Measure 11 law mandates a minimum 25-year prison sentence without parole upon conviction. Separately, Oregon Revised Statute 164.325 defines first-degree arson as intentionally setting a fire that damages protected property or threatens human safety, a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Several key details remain unknown. Investigators have not disclosed what accelerant or method was used in the attack, whether Knights and his attacker had any prior relationship, or whether surveillance footage from nearby Naito Parkway businesses captured the suspect fleeing. Police continue to ask anyone with information about the case to come forward.