Two transgender
people attacked in Michigan

In what appears to be a possible anti-transgender hate crime, police in Pontiac, Mich., are searching for two men in connection with an assault that nearly killed one victim. The two transgender women, ages 46 and 54, were attacked early Wednesday morning outside their home in downtown Pontiac, according to a report in The Oakland Press. "It appears that a vehicle followed them home," said Pontiac police sergeant William Ware. "They had left a bar downtown. The person [who attacked them] was calling them names and taunting them." An incident outside the Liberty Bar on Saginaw Street in downtown Pontiac may have involved the attackers, said Ware.

A friend of the victims, Cindy Kemp, told the paper that attacks on gays and transgenders have been rare in Pontiac. Crystal Witt, a victims' advocate of the Michigan gay rights group Triangle Foundation, also said Pontiac has not been the scene of such hate crimes. Kemp said the viciousness of the attack was easily apparent. Both victims were knocked unconscious, the paper reported. The 54-year-old victim was beaten so badly that "every part of her head was bruised or scraped or cut," Kemp said. "And she had two black eyes, a fracture in her lower eye socket and her jaw, and boot marks you can see down by her spleen." The second victim suffered 15 broken bones in her face, resulting in a weeklong hospital stay, the paper reported. (Advocate.com)