Trans man brutally beaten and left with broken jaw and ‘messed up eyes’ in 7-Eleven attack
In CCTV footage, the man (highlight by a pink circle) is beelined by two men in a 7-Eleven. (Screen capture via NBC10)
Family members have claimed that a trans man was attacked and beaten inside a 7-Eleven store in Philadelphia, US, last Sunday night.
The two man’s sisters, who did not wish to be identified, told NBC10 that their 30-year-old brother swung by a 7-Eleven supermarket in the old city neighbourhood.
Inside the store, on the corner of 3rd and Market Street, two people approached the man and threw him to the ground before pummelling him, video footage obtained by the network showed.
He suffered a broken jaw and damage to his eyes, the sisters claimed.
Moreover, the man was wearing a ‘Trans Lives Matter’ sweatshirt, which family alleged may have incited the incident.
‘My brother is sitting very hurt with a broken jaw, eyes messed up and nobody helped him,’ sisters claim.
The 7-Eleven, a convenience store chain, in Philadelphia was the setting of a brutal brawl against a trans man, his family claim. (PinkNews)
According to family member, the man ducked into the branch in the historical district at around 9pm.
He was coming from the city’s OutFest, an annual block party celebrating Philadelphia’s vivid LGBT+ people and history.
While browsing the 7-Eleven, stocked high with snacks and drinks, two people beelined towards him in an aisle in front of the tills, as seen in blurry surveillance footage.
They descended upon him, throwing him to the ground, punching and kicking him in the head.
“I’m very hurt that my brother is sitting very hurt with a broken jaw, eyes messed up and nobody helped him”, one of the sisters said.
Philadelphia’s Transgender community rallied in Love Park in Center City Philadelphia before marching through downtown to demand basic human and civil rights in Philadelphia, US. (Photo by Cory Clark/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“I just want the people to get caught.”
He repeatedly told the sisters that the brawl happened “because of my hoodie”.
“There’s a purpose for everything and I’m hope you’re going to get through this in the end,” a sister added.
A 7-Eleven employee also spoke to NBC10, claiming the incident did take place but could not pin-point exactly how the punch-up was ignited.
“What hope do we have to be ourselves if we can’t be out here and be ourselves,” one of the sisters explained.
Anti-trans hate crime has rocketed in the US.
Trans folk across the community are contending with this very thought, tangled in fear as transphobic hate crime continues to soar in the US.
The 20 reported deaths of trans people in the US in 2019. (PinkNews)
This year alone has seen what activists have described as an “epidemic” of trans violence, as 20 reported killings of trans people – 19 of them trans women of colour – have taken place.
Their names are Dana Martin, Jazzaline Ware, Ashanti Carmon, Claire Legato, Muhlaysia Booker, Michelle Washington, Paris Cameron, Chynal Lindsey, Chanel Scurlock, Zoe Spears, Brooklyn Lindsey, Denali Berries Stuckey, Kiki Fantroy and Pebbles LaDime Doe. Tracy Single, Bailey Reeves, Bee Love Slater and Itali Marlowe.
The LGBT+ community has also this year mourned Jordan Cofer, a white trans man who was killed in a mass shooting.
However, these numbers understate the problem, activists warn.
Local officials are not required to report killings to central databases in the US, and as authorities may misgender (as they initially did with Marlowe) many trans people’s deaths may go unreported.
PinkNews has reached out to the Philadelphia Police Department to confirm whether detectives are investigating the incident.
