Christopher Thomas survived after a witness and Denny’s workers helped him before emergency crews arrived.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Deborah Thomas said she learned her son had survived a near-fatal throat slashing after a friend alerted her and she watched news reports about an injured man at a North Portland Denny’s.
Her son, 33-year-old Christopher Thomas, had walked into the restaurant April 19 with a deep neck wound after an alleged attack outside nearby. The injury exposed his trachea, according to court records described in news accounts. Police arrested Christopher James Parkins, 39, who has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges. The case now centers on a sudden public attack, the actions of strangers who helped and a criminal proceeding in Multnomah County.
Deborah Thomas told KOIN she was stunned when she realized the wounded man in the reports was her son. “I freaked out,” she said. She also said she was grateful to the people who helped him reach safety and stay alive. “I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she said. “Because if it would have been any longer, he would have bled to death.” Her comments offered one of the few family accounts available after the attack, and they showed how quickly the violent episode moved from a street confrontation to a public emergency inside a restaurant.
Christopher Thomas was unhoused at the time, his mother said. Public reports did not describe him as knowing Parkins before the encounter. That lack of a known connection added to the shock for his family and to the attention surrounding the case. Reports citing court documents said the injury happened in the area of the Denny’s on North Center Avenue, near Jantzen Beach. The restaurant became the point where Thomas found help, but the injury itself was described as happening outside, in a nearby street, parking lot or strip mall area.
A witness told police he heard yelling and looked over to see a commotion. The witness saw Thomas stumble back and saw the suspect fall or tumble as if he had been pushed, according to accounts of the affidavit. Thomas then made it to the Denny’s. The witness helped him inside as he bled from the neck. Denny’s workers, who were not named publicly in the reports, tended to Thomas until medical responders arrived. Their response was later credited by Deborah Thomas as the reason her son was still alive.
The medical details in the court record were stark. Reports said the slash to Thomas’ throat was so deep that his trachea was exposed. He underwent surgery and was recovering afterward. The public accounts did not provide a full medical timeline or hospital discharge information. They also did not report a detailed statement from Thomas himself. As a result, the known account of the attack comes largely from witnesses, police, court filings and Deborah Thomas’ comments to local media.
Police later found Parkins and took him into custody. Officers said he had a 3- to 4-inch fixed-blade knife with the blade partly hidden by his sleeve. Reports said the handle was in his hand when police encountered him. Oxygen reported that an affidavit described him as extremely tense, as if his muscles were flexed. Investigators identified him as the suspect, and prosecutors filed charges that included attempted murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault counts and unlawful use of a weapon.
The case file also included statements Parkins allegedly made to officers after he was advised of his rights. He reportedly said he had been awake for days, smoked methamphetamine and had drunk whiskey the night before. He also allegedly said he had lost his housing days earlier and was staying on the streets. When police asked about the altercation, he allegedly said, “Everything feels like it’s not even real.” He also reportedly said he did not remember fighting with anyone or cutting anyone with his knife. Those statements remain allegations in a pending case.
Court records described in public reports show Parkins remained held without bail or bond after his arrest. KATU reported he also faced a parole violation and had prior convictions that included assaulting a public safety officer in 2025 and methamphetamine delivery in 2017. A preventive detention hearing was scheduled for May 4. The outcome of that hearing was not described in the public reports reviewed for this article. No trial date or final resolution was reported in those accounts.
For Deborah Thomas, the court process followed a much more personal shock. She said she did not know what caused the attack and focused instead on the people who kept her son alive. “I’m very thankful that whoever was there, who saw, that helped him,” she said. Her public gratitude stood beside a painful fact: The first full notice she had of her son’s condition came not from a hospital call described in the reports, but from a friend and a news clip about violence at a restaurant.
The case remained active in Multnomah County as Thomas recovered and Parkins awaited further court action. The public record still leaves key questions unanswered, including what began the confrontation, whether investigators found additional witnesses and how Thomas’ recovery has progressed since surgery.
Author note: Last updated May 22, 2026.