Man Indicted on Hate Crime Charges for Stabbing, Shooting at Trans Woman
Suspect allegedly hurled anti-gay slurs at victim before stabbing her in the face twice and shooting at her three times.
A New York man has been indicted on hate crime charges stemming from the assault of a transgender woman in Central Harlem last month.
Harlem resident Alshon Williams, 49, is accused of stabbing and shooting at a transgender woman after misgendering her and shouting homophobic slurs at her.
According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, Williams allegedly confronted the 36-year-old victim and her friend in front of an apartment building on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, just just after midnight on Nov. 1. Williams told the victim and her friend to quiet down because people inside the building were trying to sleep.
Williams then allegedly misgendered the victim, hurling several epithets and homophobic slurs at her during the altercation. He then retrieved a sharp object and stabbed the victim in the face at least two times, causing lacerations above her right eye. Williams then pulled out a firearm and fired three shots at the victim. The shots missed their target, and he fled the scene on a moped.
On Dec. 8, Williams was indicted on one count of second-degree assault as a hate crime, based on gender identity or sexual orientation, two counts of first-degree attempted assault as a hate crime, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and one count of second-degree menacing as a hate crime, according to a news release from the district attorney’s office.
All charges are Class C felonies, except for the menacing charge, which is a Class E felony. If convicted, Williams could face up to three-and-a-half to 15 years for each Class C felony, and from one-and-a-half to four years of probation for the menacing charge, as well as additional prison time or penalties for the hate crime designation.
“As alleged, this defendant hurled hateful words and slurs before this violent attack. It is a miracle that the victim was not severely injured — or even killed — and we wish her a speedy recovery,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr. said in a statement.
Bragg also urged victims of hate crimes to contact his office’s Hate Crimes Hotline at (212) 335-3100.
High-profile attacks against the LGBTQ community, particular transgender individuals, have increased over the past few years. According to a report from the Human Rights Campaign, 34 transgender or gender-nonconforming people have been killed in the United States this year. Of those known victims, 85% were transgender women, and 63% were Black trans women.
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