PHILADELPHIA, PA—Authorities are investigating an attack on a transgender woman in front of her house in Philadelphia on Monday, August 24.
The victim has been identified as 34-year-old Kendall Stephens. She was at her home with her husband, 12-year-old goddaughter and another child when a group of people starting fighting and throwing liquor bottles outside the residence on the 1200 block of S. 22nd Street.
Stephens said the attack happened after she threatened to call 911 if the individuals did not be quiet. Several people in the group assaulted her and part of the footage was captured by the surveillance camera, which was later ripped from the wall.
“They called me a tranny, they said, ‘You’re a man, we’re gonna get you.’ And they were repeating this all throughout the beating, [they] said that I deserved it,” Stephens told WPVI-TV.
A lady came to Stephens and kicked the door open, as well as attacked her when she went back to her house and tried to close the front door.
According to Stephens, the police officer handled the case as a general assault in the beginning, while medical personnel called detectives when she was transported to the hospital.
Deja Alvarez, the co-chair of the Philadelphia LGBTQ Police Liaison Committee, was investigating the case, saying she will ensure justice for the victim.
It was not the first attack on transgender women in Philadelphia. In June, 27-year-old Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells was murdered. A vigil was held by the Philadelphia’s Black LGBT+ community on July 31 with people chanting “say her name.”
“We are reminded with this, and countless other painful losses—especially within our transgender communities—that there is much left to do until we achieve full equality, respect, and support for us all,” said the Office of LGBT Affairs in a statement. “The murder of transgender people—especially those of color—is truly an epidemic, and a crisis that we cannot afford to allow to persist any further.”
