Police say a 34-year-old man turned a quick stop at Pete’s Market in downtown Portland into a frightening scene when he pulled out a hammer, threatened shoppers and used a racial slur toward another customer. Store employees told officers the man also smashed a sales computer before police moved in and detained him. According to court records, the suspect later told officers he has schizophrenia and that he “went big” when he grabbed the tool, an episode that plays into long-running tensions in parts of downtown where homelessness, mental-health crises and fragile retail storefronts often collide.
Officers were called to Pete’s Market at Southwest Fourth Avenue and Washington Street on Tuesday after an employee stopped the man from going behind the counter, according to KATU. The employee told police the suspect responded by pulling out a hammer and asking, “You want to die?” Another customer who stepped in tried to hit the man with pepper spray in self-defense, the outlet reports.
What the law says
Under Oregon law, threats or violence that target a victim because of a protected characteristic can be charged as bias crimes if specific legal thresholds are met. ORS 166.165 defines Bias Crime in the First Degree, according to the Oregon Legislature, and the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission’s SB 577 report outlines statewide work to standardize how agencies track and prosecute reported bias incidents.
Arraignment and past cases
Court documents reviewed by KATU identify the suspect as 34-year-old Nicholas Ivan Kling. He was arraigned Wednesday on charges that include first-degree bias crime, unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of menacing and criminal mischief. The documents state that Kling is being held without bail because he has three other criminal cases pending.
The records also show Kling was arrested on Oct. 5, 2024, after an alleged assault on a TriMet bus driver. In a separate case in Washington County in 2023, he was convicted of unlawful use of a weapon and sentenced to three years of probation. According to the filings, his probation officer later recommended ending that supervision after Kling failed to report and participate as required.
Portland context
The Portland Police Bureau says detectives review reported incidents to determine whether there are bias elements and urges witnesses to share what they saw, according to the Portland Police Bureau. State criminal-justice materials describe a broader push across Oregon, including a Bias Response Hotline and revised data-collection practices, intended to make reporting and responses to bias incidents more consistent from one jurisdiction to the next…