Two transgender women have been attacked in the nation’s capital in one week and police are still searching for the perpetrators. One victim was attacked with a baseball bat while the other was intentionally hit by a car.
“At this point, we don’t have enough evidence to say whether or not this may have been motivated by hate or bias, but it’s something we’re investigating,” police spokesperson Rachel Reid told the Washington Blade.
The first victim was attacked by two assailants after she confronted one of them for shooting Roman candle fireworks in her direction. One of the men, described as “Suspect 2″ was arrested over the weekend.
“Suspect 1 ran,” the police report notes. “When Victim 1 turned around Suspect 1 started to charge at Victim 1 with a metal bat in his hand. Suspect 1 then began striking Victim 1 with the object. Victim 1 fell to the ground [and] once on the ground Suspect 2 began to kick Victim 1, causing the listed injuries.”
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The latest attack, an intentional hit and run, left the victim in critical condition at a local hospital. Police have classified the crime as assault with the intent to kill and leaving the scene of an accident. The driver of the “dark colored hatchback” also struck another car as they sped away.
Police reports don’t identify the women as transgender, but local trans leaders have identified both victims as members of the community. The woman hit by a car was identified by her birth name, but activists say she went by the name “Boo Boo.”
While police are investigating the possibility that both attacks are hate crimes, acting D.C. Police Lt. Brett Parson, head of the city’s LGBT Liaison Unit, justified the exclusion of that information.
“If the Metropolitan Police Department does not disclose the sexual orientation or gender identity or gender expression one can assume that the crime is not related to a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity or gender expression,” he told the Blade.
