Trans man’s jaw broken after brutal attack in Philadelphia 7-Eleven
Family says he was attacked for wearing a "Trans Lives Matter" sweatshirt
A transgender man was left with a broken jaw and ‘messed up eyes’ after being attacked in a 7-Eleven in Philadelphia, his sisters say.
The 30-year-old man, who hasn’t been identified, was reportedly attacked in the store because of his “Trans Lives Matters” sweatshirt.
Surveillance footage captured two people throwing him to the ground and attacking him, NBC 10 reports.
“I’m very hurt that my brother is sitting very hurt with a broken jaw, eyes messed up and nobody helped him and I just want the people to get caught,” one of his sisters said.
The man entered the 7-Eleven on 3rd and Market streets around 9 p.m. on Sunday night, after attending the city’s annual OutFest event — which celebrates LGBTQ history and the community.
While he was browsing, two people started walking towards him, surveillance footage shows.
They then threw the man to the ground, where they punched and kicked him.
After the attack, the man told his sisters — who also didn’t wish to be identified — that he was attacked “because of my hoodie.”
“What hope do we have to be ourselves if we can’t be out here and be ourselves,” one of his sisters said.
The sisters said they had reported the incident to the Philadelphia Police Department, but the department declined to confirm if it is investigating.
NBC 10 spoke to an employee at the 7-Eleven, who said he was present during the attack but couldn’t identify how it started.
Watch NBC 10’s report below:
The attack is the latest example of an epidemic of violence against transgender Americans, particularly transgender women of color.
At least 20 transgender people have been reported killed so far this year, with 19 of those people trans women of color.
Last month, a transgender woman was beaten and dragged behind a minivan through the streets of Jacksonville, Florida.
Also in September, a man was arrested after shooting a 35-year-old transgender woman multiple times in the chest and arm. She survived the attack.
In June, Muhlaysia Booker, another Dallas resident, became the fifth trans woman killed this year when she shot to death in May, just weeks after being severely beaten by a mob of people after an altercation with a man with whom she was involved in a minor car accident.
There has been a subsequent spike in anti-transgender hate crimes and killings, with another 15 trans women murdered in the months since Booker’s slaying.
In recent weeks, the body of Bee Love Slater was found tied up, shot, and set on fire in rural Florida, trans activist Ja’leyah-Jamar was killed in Kansas City, and police identified the body found in an abandoned home that had been torched in Charlotte, N.C., as a trans woman known as “Bubba” Walker.
Read more:
West Point, Va., teacher sues over firing for refusing to use trans student’s correct pronouns
Man faces prison after assaulting nine-year-old and calling him “gayboy”
Uganda revives ‘Kill the Gays’ bill, adds punishments for ‘promotion’ of homosexuality
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