Understand how a quiet outer East Portland block turned into a homicide scene that closed streets past sunrise …
In the Hazelwood neighborhood, Portland Police officers close off SE Pine Street near 102nd Avenue after a pre‑dawn stabbing in a parking lot becomes a homicide investigation.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
A man died after a pre-dawn stabbing in a Hazelwood parking lot off Southeast Pine Street near 102nd Avenue in outer East Portland, after Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officers responded to a “Stabbing With Weapon” call on Saturday, August 22, at 2:19 a.m.
Responding officers reported finding a gravely injured man in the parking lot, and starting trauma first aid while they waited for Emergency Medical Services to arrive.
An ambulance rushes a stabbing victim to a local hospital from a Hazelwood parking lot.
Paramedics took over the medical care when they reached the scene, and transported the victim by ambulance to a hospital for treatment. Despite those efforts, the man later died at the hospital.
While officers and medics were working in the parking lot, other East Precinct officers began searching the surrounding neighborhood for a suspect. Officers reported locating a person of interest two blocks from the crime scene – near East Burnside Street and SE 102nd Avenue – where they detained him, at about 2:48 a.m., as part of the investigation into the stabbing.
At the scene of the Hazelwood stabbing, PPB Homicide Unit detectives, forensics investigators and officers work from their Mobile Command unit as they document evidence in the parking lot and surrounding area.
PPB Homicide Unit detectives responded and took over the case. During their investigation, the area along SE Pine Street remained closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic through the early morning hours, and on past sunrise, as officers and detectives documented evidence in the parking lot and nearby streets.
Later that day, PPB announced that 32-year-old Patrick Nshizirungu of Portland was the primary suspect in the case. According to Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) records, 32-year-old Nshizirungu was booked into MCDC at 8:21 p.m. on Felony charges of Murder in the Second Degree, and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. Jail records listed both charges as unsentenced, with bail set at $0 for each count, and no projected release date.
Officials say that his man, 38-year-old Washington Toe, died after a pre‑dawn stabbing in a Hazelwood parking lot off SE Pine Street, a case now under investigation by PPB Homicide Unit detectives. Family provided photo
On Monday, August 24, 2026, PPB released an update identifying the man who died. The victim was identified as 38-year-old Washington Toe of Portland. The Medical Examiner determined that Toe died of homicide, caused by a knife wound.
If you have information, and haven’t yet spoken with investigators, e-mail homicidetips@police.portlandoregon.gov and reference Case No. 26-245245.
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
