Left inset: Christopher Thomas. Right inset: Christopher Parkins. Background: The Oregon Denny’s that Christopher Thomas stumbled into after allegedly getting his throat slashed by Christopher Parkins (KOIN/YouTube).
An Oregon man’s mother found out he got his throat slashed by a total stranger after watching a “news clip” about the brutal attack, which said he walked into a Denny’s restaurant with a cut so deep that his “trachea was exposed,” according to police.
“I … freaked out,” said Deborah Thomas, mom of victim Christopher Thomas, 33, in an interview with local CBS affiliate KOIN. “I’m very thankful that whoever was there, who saw, that helped him,” she told the outlet, in reference to Denny’s employees who reportedly rushed to help her son. “They saved his life.”
The person behind the alleged attack, Christopher Parkins, is charged with attempted murder, assault and unlawful use of a weapon. Police say he had a knife “concealed by his sleeve” with the handle in his hand when they took him into custody.
Christopher Thomas stumbled into a Denny’s on North Center Avenue in Portland after Parkins randomly attacked him in a nearby strip mall parking lot, according to his mother and cops. Police say Parkins told investigators he had just become homeless and was awake for several days while using methamphetamine and drinking whiskey before the slashing.
“Everything feels like it’s not real, like real,” Parkins allegedly said, according to court documents obtained by The Oregonian. The documents allege that the “slash to the victim’s throat was so deep, his trachea was exposed,” per the local newspaper.
“I heard that he came up from behind Christopher,” Deborah Thomas told KOIN. “Blindsided him.”
Christopher Thomas underwent surgery and is currently recovering. His mom credits the staff at Denny’s for rushing to save his life.
“If it would have been any longer, he would have bled to death,” she said. “There are very very good people, and I’m so thankful for them.”
Parkins is being held without bond and has a preventative detention hearing scheduled for May 4.
