The suspect in the brutal assault of a man in downtown Portland on Sunday was identified as Marquise Love, 25, police officials said Tuesday.
A man who appears to be Love was captured on video punching and kicking a man sitting on the ground, knocking him unconscious.
The events took place near a Black Lives Matter rally and witnesses told The Epoch Times that those responsible for the assault and other beatings during the night were Black Lives Matter activists.
Investigators have made multiple attempts to contact Love but haven’t been able to locate him, the Portland Police Bureau said in an update.
“Investigators have left messages for Love to turn himself in but will continue to look for him as there is probable cause for his arrest,” the bureau said. Officials said Love, a black man, “violently assaulted” a white male identified by his brother as Adam Haner.
Haner was taken to the hospital with serious injuries after being beaten but has since been released, his brother and authorities said.
Before Love took down his Facebook page, it showed him wearing a vest with “security” emblazoned on it. The man seen assaulting Haner wore a similar vest, and appears to be of a similar build. The suspect was not wearing a mask; his face was completely unobscured.
According to Love’s social media profiles, he is a disc jockey for clubs in Portland, an armed security guard, and a ramp agent at Portland International Airport.
Police officials said they understand the high level of interest in the case but warned that the release of information may not be as timely as the public would like.
Investigators are focused on protecting the integrity of the cases they’re assigned to present the best case possible to prosecutors, an effort that early release of unverified information can hinder.
“The Portland Police Bureau is taking this assault and other incidents of violence extremely seriously,” Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said in a statement, his first about the assault. “Our Detectives continue to investigate this assault as well as other acts of violence directed toward protestors, but we need more than just videos from social media. In order to hold individuals responsible for criminal acts, we need the public to provide information and refrain from tampering with evidence.”
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, who promised to drop some charges automatically against demonstrators, issued a statement condemning the assault, as did the Mayor and Police Commissioner Ted Wheeler.
“I denounce all violence, including the assaults that were filmed and posted to social media last night,” Wheeler said in a statement. “The work this community and others nationally are doing towards criminal justice reform and racial justice are in an effort to make our communities safer. Assaults like these make our community less safe.”
Schmidt vowed to prosecute the person or persons responsible for the violence that unfolded on Sunday.
Another victim, who police said is a transgender female, is still being sought.
From The Epoch Times
