Connect with us

Local

3 hospitalized after spate of anti-LGBT violence

One gay man shot, another beaten; trans woman knocked unconscious

Published

on

The International House of Pancakes restaurant in Columbia Heights (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

One gay man was shot in a Columbia Heights restaurant on March 11 and another gay man and a transgender woman were badly beaten on the street the following day in separate incidents during a period of just over 24 hours.

The gay male victims remained hospitalized this week, with one being treated for a bullet wound to his liver and the other awaiting surgery Wednesday afternoon to repair a broken jaw. The transgender woman was treated and released for a head injury after being knocked unconscious.

Police have listed the attacks against the two gay men as anti-gay hate crimes. The attack against the transgender woman was not listed as a hate crime but police are looking into the possibility that it may have been an anti-trans hate crime, according to a police report. Officers assigned to the police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit were said to be involved in the investigation into each of the incidents.

“We appreciate [D.C.] Metropolitan Police Department’s prompt action regarding the recent attacks and we offer the victims our strongest support while recovering,” said A.J. Singletary, chair of the local group Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV). “We expect MPD to respond by increasing patrols in the affected areas and tenaciously investigating the crimes committed.”

A police report for the shooting incident says the incident began when a male suspect got into a verbal altercation with the victim, a 31-year-old gay man, about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, March 11. The report says the incident took place inside the International House of Pancakes restaurant on the 3100 block of 14th Street, N.W. in Columbia Heights.

The report says a fist fight ensued between the suspect and the victim and that two other suspects, a male and a female, got involved. It says a witness reported hearing a gunshot during the physical altercation and saw the three suspects leave the restaurant and flee in an eastbound direction along Irving Street, N.W.

“Complainant 1 complained of pain to his chest area,” the report says. “Further investigation revealed that C-1 had been shot with an unknown caliber of firearm and was transported to [a hospital] by ambulance.”

Aaron Woodland, who identified himself as the victim’s cousin, said he and another cousin were with the victim at the restaurant when the incident occurred. According to Woodland, the three suspects were sitting at a table near where the victim and the two cousins were seated. He said the suspects referred to the victim and the two cousins repeatedly as “faggies” while the two parties sat at their separate tables.

Woodland said the altercation began when the victim got up to pay the restaurant bill and the three suspects blocked his path. He said a fight started after the victim pushed his way past the suspects.

“Once he did that they started calling him faggy again,” said Woodland.

Woodland said the victim was being treated for a gunshot wound to the liver and was expected to be released from the hospital in about a week.

Police have listed the incident as a hate-related assault with intent to kill.

A police source said the second incident occurred about 9:30 p.m. Monday, March 12, at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Irving Street, N.W., when the victim, a 29-year-old gay man, got out of a cab about two blocks from his home. The source said accounts from witnesses indicate two or three male suspects attacked the victim while calling him anti-gay names as he began to walk home.

Rodney Shaffer, the victim’s partner, said the victim, who asked that his name not be disclosed, told him he remembers being dragged along the street by the attackers, who did not attempt to rob him. Shaffer said the victim called him for help on his cell phone after the attackers walked away. Seconds later, Shaffer said, another group of attackers took the victim’s cell phone, iPad and wallet, leaving the victim lying on the street in a semi-conscious state.

Shaffer said the victim was scheduled to undergo surgery Wednesday afternoon to repair a broken jaw. He said the attackers’ blows to his head and face that caused the jaw to break were so severe that the victim had to be sedated with a breathing tube inserted to prevent swelling of tissue caused by the injury from preventing him from breathing.

According to Shaffer, a detective said police were in the process of obtaining a video recording that they hoped has captured the attack through cameras installed in various locations near the site of the incident. Police planned to release posters seeking witnesses of the incident, Shaffer said.

Police reports show that the third incident occurred March 12 at about 11:50 p.m. when a transgender woman was attacked by two young male suspects on the street at West Virginia Avenue and Mt. Olivet Street, N.E.

A police report says the victim reported being hit from behind and knocked unconscious. The report says the victim initially told police she could not remember what, if anything, was said at the time of the assault.

Based on a lack of evidence to indicate the attackers used anti-transgender language or showed an anti-trans bias, the case could not immediately be listed as a hate crime, the police report said.

However, when the victim was being interviewed later at the hospital, she was asked if she thought she was targeted because of her status as a transgender woman, says the report, which was prepared by Officer S.D. Hall, an affiliate member of the police Special Liaison Unit.

Hall said in her report that the woman replied that she did believe she was attacked because of her status as a transgender woman.

The police report for the shooting incident at the IHOP restaurant provides these descriptions of the suspects: Suspect 1—black male between 20 and 23 years old, about 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 6 inches tall, brown eyes and black hair in a crew cut; light brown complexion and a slender build; Suspect 2: black male between 20 and 25 years old, 6 feet to 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing between 190 and 220 pounds, brown eyes, black dreadlocks, medium brown complexion and medium or average build; Suspect 3: black female between 20 and 23 years old, 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing between 190 and 200 pounds, brown eyes, hair in braids, medium complexion and a “heavy/fat/stocky” build.

A description of the suspects in the other two incidents wasn’t immediately available.

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

Published

on

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.

Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)

A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.

Continue Reading

World Pride 2025

Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride

Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

Published

on

Pabllo Vittar (Screen capture via Pabllo Vittar/YouTube)

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.

The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.

Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.

Continue Reading

District of Columbia

$3.7 billion RFK stadium proposal draws support from Team DC

Washington Commanders ‘proud’ to champion LGBTQ community

Published

on

The long-suffering RFK Stadium will be razed to make way for a new domed facility that could one day host the Super Bowl. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Miguel Ayala, president of the D.C. LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C., has expressed support for the $3.7 billion deal reached between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Washington Commanders football team to bring the team back to D.C. in a redeveloped site on the grounds of the city’s long shuttered RFK stadium.

With the deal calling for the city to provide $1 billion in taxpayer funds for infrastructure related costs for the massive redevelopment project — and with the Commanders to provide the remaining $2.7 billion — as of this week the deal did not have majority support on the D.C. Council, which must vote to approve it.

Ayala’s support for the project on behalf of Team D.C. raises the question of whether members of the city’s influential LGBTQ community might play some role in urging the D.C. Council to approve the project.

The proposal comes at a time when the Washington Commanders team includes a message of support for the LGBTQ community on its website. The message follows its hosting last October of its 4th annual LGBTQ Pride Night Out at the Commanders game against the Cleveland Browns.

“The Washington Commanders are proud to champion the LGBTQ+ community and its allies,” the team states on its website. “Through the unifying power of sports, we aim to create a culture where all feel welcome and celebrated.”

In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Ayala points out that the Commanders are among every D.C.-based professional sports team that hosts a Pride Night Out event, which Team DC helps to organize.

“Each year, our events have grown stronger, with vibrant tailgates, on-field celebrations, and powerful moments that shine a spotlight on our community,” Ayala said. “We can’t wait to kick off our first Night Out at the Commanders Stadium in 2030.”

He was referring to plans by the Commanders organization and the D.C. mayor’s office to have the stadium deal approved by the D.C. Council in July, with construction of the new stadium to begin then, and with a planned completion in time for the 2030 professional football season.

Ayala also points out that the RFK stadium grounds currently serve as home to LGBTQ-related sports activity, including the D.C. Gay Flag Football League and the D.C. Front Runners group. He added that the RFK grounds will serve as the playing fields for this year’s WorldPride Capital Cup sports competition, where LGBTQ rugby and soccer teams from around the world will compete.

“This new stadium will be more than just a field – it will be a powerful new addition to the vibrant, diverse, and proud communities we champion every day,” he said in his statement.

At an April 28 news conference, Bowser, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and other city officials provided details of the stadium project, noting that it includes a massive development of the new stadium and the surrounding 180 acres of land.

In addition to the 65,000-seat domed stadium, officials said the project would include 5,000 to 6,000 residential housing units, with 30 percent designated as “affordable” for low- and moderate-income residents. They said the project would also include parks and recreation areas, hotels, restaurants, retail, and neighborhood amenities.

“As we focus on the growth of our economy, we’re not only bringing our team home, but we’re also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to Ward 7,” Bowser said in a statement

Opponents of the project, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have said they don’t believe the city should use its own funds for a stadium and the related development. 

So far, just four Council members have expressed support for the project. Mendelson and two other Council members have expressed opposition, and the remaining five have not yet said whether they would vote for or against it. The project needs seven of the current 12-member Council for it to be approved.

Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, who initially had not taken a position on the proposal, this week said he was looking at the project more favorably, according to news media reports. 

Continue Reading

Popular