Attack on transgender woman in Kensington investigated as hate crime; sister and friend shot

A transgender woman was badly beaten and her sister and friend were shot over the weekend in Kensington after the assailants yelled homophobic slurs, prompting police to investigate the attack as a hate crime.

Shortly after 4:30 a.m. Sunday, a 17-year-old girl and a 22-year-old woman were shot near the 300 block of East Westmoreland Street, police said. The third victim was a transgender woman who was struck with the butt of a gun and badly beaten, District Attorney Larry Krasner said.

A bullet grazed the back of the 17-year-old’s head. The 22-year-old woman was shot in the arm. Both were taken to Temple University Hospital in stable condition, police said.

Police did not release if the transgender woman was taken to a hospital or her condition as of Monday. None of the victims were identified.

The attack was sparked by an altercation inside a hookah lounge in the area, police said. A suspect yelled homophobic slurs at the woman who was eventually beaten. At an unrelated news conference Monday, Krasner said that the unidentified attacker initially yelled slurs out of a car window as he passed the three women. Further details about what transpired weren’t clear.

As of Monday afternoon, no arrests had been made and police did not provide updates on the victims’ conditions.

City and state officials condemned the violent incident that took place during Pride Month and a week after Philadelphia’s own Pride March, which commemorated the city’s 50th Pride celebration.

Mayor Jim Kenney wrote on Twitter that he was “horrified” to learn of the attack.

“Any acts of hate or intolerance are unacceptable and will not be tolerated in Philadelphia. @PhillyLGBTgov is working with partners to remain briefed on this incident and remain available for support,” he wrote.

During his weekly news conference, Krasner denounced threats and violence against members of the LGBTQ community, noting the weekend arrests of 31 members of the white nationalist Patriot Front group near a Pride event in Idaho, and the attack in East Kensington.

“Just this morning, after a rant involving homophobic slurs, a man in East Kensington pistol-whipped a transgender woman, apparently tried to shoot her two companions — one of them was her sister,” said Krasner. ”That is alarming. I want LGBTQ people to know, and all of their allies to know, that as you celebrate Pride here law enforcement is unified and will make sure you are protected.”

“We are unified in understanding that crimes that are specifically committed out of hate have an additional and serious level to them because they’ are intended to terrorize entire communities,” Krasner said.