Look what Taylor Swift made me do, suspect in scissors stabbing tells police

An Oregon man was arrested Sunday for chasing down a pedestrian and stabbing him with a pair of scissors.

But the most eyebrow-raising aspect of the alleged crime was the suspect’s motive.

After he was arrested, Brent Shannon Thicksten, 43, told police he had attacked the pedestrian in downtown Portland Sunday because Taylor Swift “told me to kill him,” according to court documents reviewed by Fox 12.

Thicksten also told Portland police that Taylor Swift was his wife, KATU reports. When police asked where his wife was at the time, he told police that “we are one.”

Later, Thicksten declined to answer any more questions that law enforcement asked him, citing his “top secret clearance,” court documents said.

Swift is one of the best-selling artists of all time — and her latest album, “Reputation,” is already the top-selling album of the year, just a month after its November release, Billboard reports. Her recent single “Look What You Made Me Do” spent 16 weeks on the charts and reached No. 1.

Swift is also well known for her romantic entanglements and the songs they inspire. Swift has been romantically linked to fellow musicians like Calvin Harris and to actors like Jake Gyllenhaal, ABC reports. (Thicksten didn’t appear on ABC’s list of Swift love interests.)

After he was arrested, Thicksten was taken to the Multnomah County Jail, where he is being held on $277,500 bail, according to jail records.

Thicksten has been charged with second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and related charges, jail records said. He will next appear in court on Dec. 19.

Thicksten had been acting menacingly toward multiple people in the downtown area of Portland around 11 a.m. on Sunday, police said. His victim, who sustained a 2-inch wound, told police that he had been scared of Thicksten and the way he was acting, so he tried to flee, KATU reports.

That’s when Thicksten started to chase after him, the victim said, and ultimately stabbed him across the back. Police said the victim did not have to go to the hospital for the injury, KATU reports.

It turns out Thicksten has something of a reputation in Portland, too.

In 2014, Thicksten stole two forklifts in the city and went on a rampage with the vehicles, police said — ripping up grates on the streets, running around with pipe and driving onto railroad tracks, the Oregonian reported at the time.

Thicksten “appeared to be high on something” during the 2014 rampage, a witness told police, KOIN reported.

Thicksten has also violated parole on a third-degree robbery charge, which he pleaded guilty to earlier this year, according to KATU.

This story was originally published December 12, 2017 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Look what Taylor Swift made me do, suspect in scissors stabbing tells police."