Investigators do not believe the attack on a transgender woman over the weekend was a hate crime, police said Wednesday, as they prepared to speak with her.
The victim was attacked as she approached her Jackson Heights home at about 4 a.m. on Sunday. The suspect, who investigators believe knew the victim, repeatedly beat her and then dragged her to the curb. He started banging her head against the pavement, leaving her with multiple fractures and bleeding in the brain.
“We were able to find a witness who saw the whole thing from their window and heard the exchange as well,” said Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce during a news conference at police headquarters Wednesday. “It was not a random attack.”
Boyce said the victim’s phone was taken, and police believe the suspect was interested in the text messages.
The suspect is described as about 30 to 35 years old, about 5-feet-8-inches and 200 pounds.
In a separate incident, a 23-year-old man was beaten and sexually assaulted in an alleyway on Monday evening by three men who shouted homophobic statements at him.
Organizers of a rally for the victim said the event will be held on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and 93rd Street.
