Man accused of chewing MAX passenger’s face claims victim was ‘robot’

GRESHAM Ore. (KPTV) – A man charged in a grisly MAX station attack Tuesday morning claims he did it because he believed the victim was a “robot.”

At about 2:17 a.m., officers responded to the Cleveland Station at 1200 Northeast 8th Street where witnesses reported an attack and a lot of blood.

Officers said they found 25-year-old Koryn Daniel Kraemer still on top of the victim, a 78-year-old man from Hillsboro, and pulled him off.

According to police, the suspect “had chewed off the victim’s ear and part of his face. The injury was so severe that responders could see the victim’s skull.”

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The victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment. His current condition is not known.

In a subsequent interview with police, Kraemer told investigators he believed the victim was a “robot” who was trying to murder him because of the victim’s scent.

Kraemer told investigators he spit out the victim’s flesh, thanking the arriving police for saving his life by separating him from the “robot.”

Kraemer told police he was unemployed and was recently evicted from the residence where he had been living in Portland since Nov. 2022. Furthermore, police say Kraemer admitted to consuming alcohol, cannabis and fentanyl pills. Kraemer also stated he did not have a phone number or email address, according to court documents.

Kraemer appeared in court Wednesday on a second-degree assault charge and is being held without bail until his next court date. He pled not guilty.

Court records show this is Kraemer’s first arrest in Oregon. He was previously arrested twice in Georgia but neither arrest resulted in a conviction.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Kraemer had an attorney who could comment.

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