Transgender assaulted, teen investigated for hate crime

A group of teens beat a transgender person and threatened to kill her Saturday on Rainier Avenue, according to Seattle police.

The person, who told police she is in the process of changing her name and appearance to a woman, reported she was attacked by a group of teens at the bus stop at Rainier and South Mount Baker Boulevard.

A teenage boy was arrested and booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of robbery and felony malicious harassment, the state's hate crime law, according to police.

The teen told police he and his "homies" did not bother the victim until she solicited him for sex.

The assault happened about 4:40 p.m. Saturday. When police arrived, several witnessed flagged them down, saying the suspects fled on a Metro bus.

Police stopped the coach near Rainier and South Andover Street. When the bus stopped, the teen who was arrested fled and was identified by a witness, police said.

The victim, in her 30s, told police "that as soon as the suspects got to him, they started hitting and kicking him at the same time one of the (suspects) was attempting to take his backpack," according to a police report.

The victim held onto her backpack and briefly got away. But she told police they charged again, knocking her to the ground. She said she heard a homophobic term said when she was being beaten, and one of the boys stated they were going to kill her.

"He also stated that he sometimes wears a skirt and he stated that he believes he was attacked because of this," according to the heavily redacted report.

The victim did not suffer life-threatening injuries and declined medical attention at the scene.

The boy arrested, either 13 or 14, "was uncooperative in providing information regarding the identities of the other suspects involved in the incident," Officer Wayne Johnson wrote in his report.