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Man Arrested For Assaulting Two Transgender Women In Queens
By
David Colon
Published Mar 19, 2017
Modified Mar 19, 2017
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By
David Colon
Published Mar 19, 2017
Modified Mar 19, 2017
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Police have charged a Long Island man with a hate crime after he attacked two transgender women outside a McDonald's in Jackson Heights on Friday afternoon.
Police say that about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, they were alerted to an assault taking place near Roosevelt Avenue and 82nd Street. Witnesses reported that a man, later identified as 38-year-old Patrick O'Meara of Oakdale, had punched one transgender woman in the face and thrown another one to the ground. According to the cops, O'Meara made derogatory statements about the women's identities before the attack.
O'Meara came back to the scene and assaulted one of the women with a cane according to NBC, before fleeing again. Police caught O'Meara after searching the area, and he was charged with two counts of assault as a hate crime.
Following the attack, the victims were taken to Forest Hills Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, including cuts and a broken ankle.
"He was harassing everybody that was walking by but when the trans women walked by he clearly was infuriated," one witness told DNAinfo. The site also reports that O'Meara was arrested in January for stealing a Volvo while drunk, and charged with grand larceny and driving while intoxicated.
Bianey García, LGBTQ Justice organizer at Make the Road New York, issued the following statement about the attack:
We condemn this brutal hate attack and stand in solidarity with the survivors. We are horrified that transgender individuals in our community have suffered yet another hate attack. Transgender immigrant women like me are part of the heart and soul of our Jackson Heights, and we will not stand idly by as our community faces discrimination and violence. We will continue to organize in our communities and send the message that Jackson Heights and New York City must welcome and embrace all of us, and that hate has no place in our neighborhood and our City.
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jackson heights
transgender
David Colon
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