Four stabbed, one officer shot in Portland box cutter incident

Portland residents experienced a violent disruption in the downtown core on Oct. 15, when a man attacked four people with a box cutter. The incident resulted in one death and three survivors, altering the safety landscape for those in the 400 block of SW Broadway.

Police body camera footage released on Thursday documents the final moments of the encounter. At approximately 4:30 p.m., officers arrived to reports of an assault. The video shows Officer Daniel Hall exiting his patrol car and firing two shots at the suspect. The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Eric J. Hurtado, fell to the ground but continued to move his arm in a stabbing motion toward a victim before losing consciousness.

Hurtado was transported to a hospital where he later died from his injuries. Two other individuals, one stabbed inside a business and another outside a hotel, sustained serious injuries but survived. Police stated that two additional victims were attacked but did not require hospital transport, bringing the total number of people assaulted to four.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office concluded its review of the officer-involved shooting. The office determined that Officer Hall’s use of force was justified. As a result, the case will not be referred to a grand jury for further review. The release of the video coincides with the finality of the legal decision.

The incident occurred in the 400 block of SW Broadway, a high-traffic area in downtown Portland. The stabbing spree involved a box cutter, a small utility blade often found in everyday tools. The release of the footage provides a visual account of the split-second decision that led to the suspect's death.