Knife threat on Amtrak train near Pasco called a hate crime
An Amtrak train was forced to stop north of Pasco and wait for sheriff deputies to arrive after a man allegedly brandished a knife.
Wesley B. Young, 41, of Burien, is in the Franklin County jail accused of threatening three men with a knife before barricading himself in the bathroom on the train Thursday night.
He allegedly called one of the victims a racial slur and continued yelling at them through the locked bathroom door, according to court documents.
Young, 41, is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail on suspicion of second-degree assault and for committing a hate crime through malicious harassment.
Franklin County sheriff’s deputies say Young was reportedly drunk or high at the time.
He was standing in the tight hallway near a staircase when he was approached by a 30-year-old man and two friends who were wanting to walk down the stairs, according to court records.
The 30-year-old told investigators that he told Young that he needed to get down the stairs.
Young allegedly responded by calling the other man a slur and pulling out a knife. Then he allegedly said, “Do we have a problem?”
Young was about an arm’s length away and one his friends stepped between the men.
The 30-year-old’s friends gave similar accounts of what happened. One said Young also had a bottle of pepper spray in his other hand.
The men managed to get Young to calm down and he allegedly started apologizing but was still holding the knife.
They reported what happened to Amtrak staff, who stopped the train near Highway 395 and West Sagemoor Road.
Deputies arrived to find Young in a locked bathroom. When they tried to open the door with a key, Young stopped it from opening by grabbing the handle, said court documents.
He continued to yell and began hitting the door. He remained in the bathroom until Tri-City Regional SWAT team members arrived.
Once he surrendered, police found a can of pepper spray in his pocket and a folding knife with a 3-inch blade in the restroom trash can.
This story was originally published February 22, 2023 at 12:49 PM.