Metro Weekly

Police release photos and video of four teens suspected in attack on D.C. transgender woman

Crime Solvers will offer up to $1,000 for anyone who provides information leading to arrest and indictment of suspects

Suspects in the robbery and assault at 3820 Minnesota Ave. NE – Photo: Metropolitan Police Department.

The Metropolitan Police Department has released photos and video of four teenagers thought to be among seven men who beat and robbed a transgender bartender from the DC Eagle outside a Northeast D.C. gas station.

The photos and video, obtained by a camera at the gas station’s convenience store, show three of the men inside the store and then walking toward Wood, who is off camera. A fourth young man can be seen through the convenience store’s window.

MPD is asking anyone with information about the suspects’ identities to assist in their ongoing investigation.

The men in question are believed to be part of a group who attacked Alicia Love Wood around 3:20 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 2, after the end of her shift.

Wood said she was making her way towards a Citgo gas station, located at 3820 Minnesota Ave. NE, to buy some Airheads candy when the men began harassing her, calling her various homophobic and anti-gay slurs.

Wood says she then realized that the men were following her, and tried to escape, but was set upon, punched, kicked, stomped on, and spit on as the men grabbed her purse.

She escaped, fleeing towards the Citgo station, when the men — who realized that her money and personal belongings were in her fanny pack rather than her purse — again assaulted and robbed her before fleeing the scene.

Wood claims she tried to enlist the help of a gas station employee, who refused to help her or call the police. She did manage to call police shortly before the men stole her phone. After police arrived on scene, she filed a complaint but refused medical attention.

In a follow-up interview with Metro Weekly last week, Wood said she suffered cuts and abrasions to her leg, and injured her forehead, which, as of last Wednesday, was still swollen and painful to the touch.

Wood believes her attack was motivated by a desire to rob her and by her gender identity. MPD confirms that the case is currently being investigated as a potential bias-motivated crime, given the slurs yelled at Wood while she was being attacked. 

Anyone with information about the crime or the potential suspects is encouraged to call police at 202-727-9099 or text a tip to the department’s Text Tip Line at 50411. Crime Solvers, a program of local D.C. area police departments, offers a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and indictment of anyone who has committed a crime in the District of Columbia.

See clearer individual photos of the suspects below:

Photos: Metropolitan Police Department.

Read more:

Federal judge rules Virginia school board’s restroom policy violated trans student Gavin Grimm’s civil rights

Virginia restaurant ordered to pay gay employee $20,000 after homophobic discrimination

White supremacist arrested over plot to attack gay bars and synagogues in Las Vegas

Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism

These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!