A man stabbed in the neck on a quiet North Portland greenway is expected to survive, thanks in large part to officers who packed his wounds at the scene before medics arrived. Portland police say two people were taken to the hospital following the stabbing, which shut down a stretch of North Michigan Avenue on Saturday night and left investigators still searching for answers about what triggered the violence.
Portland Police Bureau officers responded to a reported stabbing in the 3500 block of North Michigan Avenue on Saturday night, according to KOIN 6 News. Officers found a victim with stab wounds who had run down the road, and they immediately began providing lifesaving aid for wounds to his neck. A second person with unspecified injuries was also taken to the hospital, and both are expected to survive, per the outlet's reporting.
A Portland police sergeant told the station that without the wound packing officers performed at the scene, the neck injuries may have been fatal. A U.S. Department of Justice filing on PPB's officer curriculum describes practical instruction in lifesaving techniques and a duty to render aid.
What Police Still Don't Know
Investigators are still working out the details of what led up to the stabbing, the station reports, and police are talking with the second hospitalized person as part of that effort. It remains unclear whether that individual is being treated as a witness, a victim, or something else entirely. Police have not determined a possible suspect, leaving the motive and sequence of events on North Michigan Avenue unresolved for now.
Police closed North Michigan Avenue between Fremont and Failing while they worked the scene.
A Violent Week for North Portland
The stabbing lands just two days after a separate shooting near North Wall Avenue and North Lombard Street hospitalized two men and forced police to close surrounding streets during their investigation, as Hoodline previously reported on the Lombard shooting. The two incidents occurred within two days of each other in North Portland.
The violence also arrives against a backdrop of overall declining serious assaults citywide. Portland Police Bureau data reported by KGW shows aggravated assaults fell 18% during the first half of 2025, as Portland posted the sharpest homicide drop among major U.S. cities. The figures offer a snapshot of Portland's crime trends during that period.
What Happens Next
No arrest has been announced, and police are still investigating. If a suspect is identified, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office could consider whether to file charges.
The case echoes another recent North Portland prosecution: a Portland man went on trial earlier this month on charges of first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and two counts of aggravated murder tied to a stabbing inside a grocery store restroom that left a 77-year-old victim with non-life-threatening injuries, a case Hoodline covered as jury selection began. For now, the Michigan Avenue stabbing remains an open investigation, with police still piecing together what happened before officers' fast response turned a potentially fatal neck wound into a survivable one.
