Pebble Beach high school student one of the victims in Portland train attack

Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, known as “Tilly,” was one of the victims stabbed on an Oregon train Friday after he confronted a man who yelled racial slurs towards two women on the train.

Tilly passed away from his stab wounds.

The 23 year-old spent his high school years on the Central Coast attending Stevenson School in Pebble Beach.

Meche’s high school teacher and soccer/golf coach, Justin Bates, told KION, “He was a spirited individual who, even as a high schooler, held a worldly perspective that likely shaped the compassion and humanity that directed his actions toward a higher good.”

Meche attended Stevenson High from 2009 to 2012.

“Our community remembers Tilly as a young man with limitless warmth, vitality, and humor; adored by his peers and deeply respected by the faculty. He was an engaged member of the school, devoting his time to team sports, the arts, and our wilderness program. He is a reflection of the values Stevenson strives to cultivate in all our students, and his tragic death has deeply saddened those that knew Tilly, as well as those who cherish the ideals he represents,” said Bates.

Meche’s accused killer, Jeremy Christian, appeared in court Tuesday.

Christian said, “You call it terrorism. I call it patriotism. You hear me? Die.”

Christian did not enter a plea.