Local
Shooting, stabbing of trans women sparks meeting
Community leaders to address recent violence
Bree Wallace was stabbed 40 times last week; another trans woman was shot on Thursday. (Photo courtesy of Ruby Corado.)
The shooting of a transgender woman early Thursday morning on Eastern Avenue in Northeast D.C., which took place six days after another trans woman was stabbed 40 times near Stanton Road, S.E., has prompted LGBT activists to call a “community response” meeting tonight at the LGBT community center.
Police announced they made an arrest in the stabbing case on Wednesday, charging 23-year-old Michael McBride of Southeast D.C. with assault with intent to kill. McBride was scheduled to appear in court on Friday for an unrelated robbery charge.
“In light of the recent violence against the transgender community, Earline Budd along with D.C. Trans Coalition, Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence, and the D.C. Center invite you to a community gathering this Friday, [June 28] at 5:30 p.m.,” said D.C. Center director David Mariner in a Facebook announcement. The D.C. Center is located at 1318 U St., N.W.
Police officials and members of the department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit were expected to attend the meeting.
Budd, a longtime D.C. transgender activist, informed fellow activists early Thursday morning in an email alert that police had just reported that a trans woman was shot by an unidentified male suspect about 6 a.m. on or near the 6000 block of Eads Street, N.E.
Police said later that the woman, whose name had not been publicly released, was standing near the corner of Eastern Avenue and Eads Street when two male suspects approached her. One of the suspects shot her in the left buttocks in what was said to be a non-life threatening gunshot wound, a police source said.
The woman was taken to a nearby hospital where she was treated and was expected to be released later in the day or on Friday.
Police in D.C. and Prince George’s County, Md., which borders on Eastern Avenue, and community leaders from both sides of the city-county line, have said the area is widely known as a place where transgender sex workers congregate. However, transgender activists have said the area is also known as a gathering place for transgender women who are not involved in prostitution.
In an email to LGBT activists, Sgt. Matt Mahl, supervisor of the D.C. police department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit, said police found the woman suffering from the gunshot wound on the 6000 block of Eads Street, N.E., where she is believed to have fled immediately after being shot.
Mahl said affiliate members of the GLLU were among the first officers to arrive at the scene. No arrests had been made in the case as of late Thursday night. He said that as of late Thursday investigators had not identified a motive for the attack.
The stabbing victim, Bree Wallace, 29, told police she knew the man who stabbed her from the neighborhood where she lived. A police report said the stabbing took place inside an abandoned house at 3038 Stanton Rd., N.E., which is located a few blocks from the 2400 block of 15th Place, S.E., where Wallace lives.
Budd said Wallace was one of her clients at the D.C. transgender advocacy organization Transgender Health Empowerment. Budd said Wallace told her that the suspect, later identified as McBride, sent her a text message asking to meet her. The police report says Wallace told police she intended to meet up with McBride to buy a cigarette from him.
McBride “then suddenly started to stab [her] for unknown reasons,” the police report says.
In a telephone interview with the Blade from her hospital bed on June 23, Wallace said, “I don’t know why he did it. He didn’t say anything.”
Budd and transgender activist Ruby Corado, director of Casa Ruby, an LGBT community center that reaches out to the transgender and Latino communities, each have made appeals to the police and LGBT community to take action to address a growing problem of anti-transgender violence in the city.
District of Columbia
‘Queer Love’ campaign launched to address domestic violence
D.C. event set for LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day on May 28
The D.C.-based Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth, announced earlier this month that it has joined partner organizations to launch a Queer Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign aimed at addressing domestic violence within the LGBTQ community.
In a May 18 statement, the Alston Foundation said the campaign involves a public awareness initiative leading up to LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day scheduled for May 28.
“Domestic and family violence in LGBTQ+ communities is real and too often invisible,” Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director, said in the statement. “As a community, we do not talk about it enough, and that silence can leave survivors feeling isolated and alone,” he said. “We must break that silence.”
He added that culturally competent care for those impacted by domestic violence is available through a newly launched website, queerlove.org, “where people can safely access vital resources, educational toolkits, and support networks they need on their healing journey.”
The website announces one of the project’s first events, a Queer Love Community Social, was scheduled for Thursday, May 28, from 6-8 p.m. at the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W.
“Join us this LGBT+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day for a community social dedicated to visibility and survivor resilience,” the website statement says. “Let’s gather to strengthen our bonds, honor the path to healing, and share free resources,” it says of the May 28 event.
The website also announces a June 1 workshop called Empowering Survivors of LGBTQ+ Intimate Partner Violence, which it says will be presented by Jesse Wedell, an official with the D.C. LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative. The website provides an online form to register for the workshop upon which its location would be disclosed.
It identifies the partner organizations working with the Alston Foundation on the Queer Love Public Awareness Campaign as the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, and Equality Chamber.
The resources and information provided by the project can be accessed at www.queerlove.org.
District of Columbia
Man accused of threatening to shoot D.C. bar employee after making anti-gay slurs
May 24 incident took place near Black Pride events on U Street
D.C. police on Sunday, May 24, at around 4:20 p.m. arrested a Maryland man for allegedly threatening to shoot an employee while using anti-gay slurs at Ben’s Next Door restaurant and bar at 1211 U St., N.W.
According to a statement released by police and a police incident report, the arrested man, identified as Delonte Fraley, 32, of Accokeek, Md., made the threats after the employee told a bartender not to serve the man alcohol.
“The suspect overheard the employee and threatened to shoot the employee and used homophobic slurs against the employee,” the police statement says. “When the employee left the restaurant for the day, the suspect was standing near the employee’s vehicle,” it says.
“The employee returned to the restaurant and called the police,” the statement continues. “The suspect was apprehended by responding officers,” it says.
The police statement says the arresting officers charged Fraley with Felony Threats (Hate/Bias).
D.C. Superior Court records show prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., which prosecutes D.C. criminal cases, escalated the charge to Threatening to Injure or Kidnap a Person (Bias-Related Hate Crime).
The incident occurred during Memorial Day weekend when thousands of visitors and D.C. area LGBTQ advocates and supporters were attending D.C. Black Pride events held in locations across the city, including Black Pride parties hosted by LGBTQ bars in the U Street entertainment area near Ben’s Next Door.
Among the nearby LGBTQ bars hosting D.C. Black Pride events were Nellie’s Sports Bar and Thurst Lounge. Ben’s Next Door is located next to the popular longtime U Street eatery Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Court records show that Judge Robert R. Rigsby at a May 25 presentment hearing released Fraley on personal recognizance with a stay-away order — the details of which were not publicly disclosed pending a June 4 preliminary hearing.
A more detailed arrest affidavit filed in court by D.C. police says Fraley allegedly confronted the employee at Ben’s Next Door with anti-gay slurs on the day prior to his arrest.
“The complainant told the defendant that because he used homophobic slurs towards himself previously on May 23, 2026, and his hostess, as well as making threats to the complainant and calling him a faggot, he was unable to stay in the establishment,” the affidavit states.
It adds, “The defendant became irate stating, ‘I know where your Tesla is at. See me outside faggot, I will slap your ass’ and ‘I will shoot your ass.’” The affidavit says the complainant confirmed to police the Tesla referred to by Fraley was his vehicle. It says as the victim walked toward his car after getting off work, he saw Fraley standing directly in front of the car.
“The complainant stated he felt unsafe while the defendant was standing in front of his vehicle because he felt the defendant was capable of carrying out those threats,” says the affidavit. It says the victim then decided to return to the restaurant and call police without the defendant having seen him.
“The defendant was placed under arrest for Felony Threats Hate/Bias and was transported to the Third District Station for processing,” the affidavit concludes.
It couldn’t immediately be determined whether the victim identifies as LGBTQ or whether any of the Ben’s Next Door patrons had been involved with D.C. Black Pride.
“Established in 2008, Ben’s Next Door is a family-owned and operated restaurant and bar on U Street, Northwest in Washington, D.C.,” a statement on its website says. “As a Black-owned establishment, it’s our goal to deliver a warm, welcoming, familiar, and communal vibe to all guests,” the statement says.
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Congratulations to Peter Schott on being honored by Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer on National Honor our LGBTQ Elders Day.
Schott is a prominent LGBTQ advocate and seasoned political strategist who has spent decades advancing civil rights at the national and state levels. Following a distinguished 25-year career as a staff assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives, Schott leveraged his extensive legislative expertise to help organize the National Stonewall Democrats, serving as an influential member of its national board.
After moving to Delaware in 2002, he became a foundational figure in the state’s LGBTQ political landscape, co-founding the Delaware Stonewall PAC, (now Stonewall Delaware) to champion the election of pro-equality candidates. His strategic lobbying and community organizing were instrumental in the successful passage of Delaware’s landmark non-discrimination, civil union, and marriage equality laws. A former member of the State Human Relations Commission, he remains a vital voice for the LGBTQ community in the Mid-Atlantic, continuing to document and drive social progress through his activism and writing. Schott currently serves as vice chair of the Delaware Democratic Pride Caucus, and a board member of Speak Out Against Hate (SOAH). He was a delegate to two Democratic National Conventions.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, New York University; and a master’s of Public Administration degree from American University.
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