LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department is asking for the public’s help to find a group of men who they say attacked a transgender woman over the weekend and are believed to be the same people who attacked her in April.
According to LAPD, the group involved in a previous attack returned to the victim’s location on May 31 at around 11:38 p.m. in the Westlake District of Los Angeles.
They assaulted the 61-year-old, leaving her with serious injuries. The group left the scene before authorities arrived.
According to the LAPD, one of the suspected attackers entered the victim’s store on April 8 and began flirting with her. But once she rejected his advances, he left and later returned, pushing her to the ground.
“The suspect sexually assaulted the victim and discovered she was a transgender woman. The suspect pulled away and threatened to kill the victim,” the LAPD said.
The same man allegedly returned to the victim’s location several times along with other men and committed other hate crimes against the victim which included striking her with a skateboard, deploying pepper spray, and throwing an unknown liquid substance at her while another man attempted to stun her with a Taser.
Detectives believe there may be other unidentified victims and are seeking the public’s help in identifying the suspected attackers and released their photographs.
Anyone who may have been a victim or has additional information regarding the identification of the suspects, is urged to contact Rampart Division Robbery Detectives at 213-484-3495. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247).
Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org. Tipsters may also download the “P3 Tips” mobile application and select the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers as their local program.
