Two allegedly anti-LGBT attacks occurred this past weekend in Philadelphia.
In one incident, a man attacked a 19-year-old male bisexual student near Temple University and in another, a man attacked a transgender woman in Center City. The Philadelphia Police Department is investigating the former case and made an arrest in the latter.
In the most recent incident, a student reported an attack on the 2000 block of North 15th Street to Temple University Police. The attack occurred 12:30 a.m. Jan. 22, according to Philadelphia Police.
Temple’s Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said the offender, accompanied by two women, walked by the victim, who was accompanied by three friends. After one of the victim’s friends accidentally bumped the suspect, the latter allegedly said the word “faggot” as he walked by.
“Our complainant turned back and said, ‘What?’ and then the offender said, ‘You don’t get to talk to me’ and said [the expletive] again,” Leone said. “And then they walked past. As our complainant walked past, he said the person, from behind, pushed him and knocked him to the ground. That’s when he banged his hands and knees.”
The suspect is described as a white male, about 5-feet-8-inches tall and 150 pounds. One woman accompanying him — described as white, 5-feet-4 with black hair — asked the suspect to stop, according to the report. There is no description for the second woman.
While the student did not require medical attention, he sustained bruising due to a pre-existing medical condition characterized by chronic pain, Leone said.
Campus Safety Services is currently investigating surveillance footage to determine the suspect’s identity.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, police arrested Daejon Workman, a 25-year-old homeless man, for an attack on transgender woman Ryannah Quigley. According to a police statement, Workman approached Quigley and two friends Friday evening on the 1300 block of Filbert Street. Police said Workman shouted homophobic and transphobic slurs and struck the victim. Quigley captured the conclusion of the incident on Facebook Live. The suspect fled the area on foot before officers observed a male wearing the same clothes as the suspect Sunday morning at the Frankford Terminal.
Quigley was attending at the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Creating Change Conference, which was near the location of the incident. In an email statement to PGN, Task Force Deputy Executive Director Russell Roybal said the organization worked with the City of Philadelphia to make sure the perpetrator was brought to justice.
“We provided immediate help to the person who was the victim of this cowardly attack,” Roybal said. “We are in touch with her and understand that she is surrounded by a supportive community. There is an epidemic of violence against trans and gender-nonconforming women of color across the nation right now. Every single leader in Pennsylvania and beyond must step up and do more to help end this national tragedy.”
According to court dockets, Workman has previous arrests for robbery, assault and possession of marijuana. In this case, he is being charged with simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. He is scheduled for early bail review 9:30 a.m. Jan. 27 in Room 1103 and for a status hearing 10 a.m. Feb. 23 in Room 404 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert St.