Trans woman’s pleas for help ignored as she is robbed, beaten by seven men
A transgender woman was reportedly robbed and beaten by a gang of seven men in Washington DC on Friday (August 2).
Alicia Love posted an account of the “traumatising” attack on her Facebook page, including how a gas station employee ignored her pleas for help.
Love, who is manager of the DC Eagle gay bar, says she was walking to the nearby gas station after work when the group of men shouted slurs at her.
“As I’m going to the gas station I walked past a group of seven guys and they were calling me names like tranny, he-she, f****t,” she told the Washington Blade.
“I ignored it and I stayed focused on where I was walking.”
The men reached her and demanded that she hand over her purse. Love refused, and was immediately attacked.
“Before I could say anything more they ran up on me, all seven of the guys, and they jumped me,” she said. “And I fell to the ground and they started to kick me and punch me and kick me in my face and called me names: tranny.”
The attackers took her purse and she fled towards the gas station. But when they realised she was carrying her valuables in a fanny pack around her waist, they continued pursuing her.
Terrified, Love begged the gas station cashier to let her inside his booth, but he refused.
“I told him they’re coming after me, can you please let me in,” she said. “I’m like I need help. So, he looked at me and ignored me.
“They started to punch me and beat me up and they took my fanny pack and they took my phone and everything.”
Before the men stole her phone Love had managed to call 911, but unfortunately the police arrived at the scene too late. The men has already ran away, leaving her in “disbelief.”
“I just came out of the gas station and fell on the ground and started to cry,” Love said. “I just didn’t know what to do. I was crouched up. I was bruised up.”
Among the items taken from her were $300 in cash, an iPhone, an Uber card, a Visa card, and her ID. Police are treating the attack as a suspected hate crime.
Love is now sharing her story through TV interviews with CBS and Fox. “Thank god I’m still here, I wanna make a difference,” she wrote on Facebook.
“In the moments of hurt and sadness we [must] remember I’m still here, now it’s time to fight for our rights.”