A man has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon after harassing and allegedly stabbing a transgender teen on a Washington D.C. metro line during rush hour yesterday.
A 15-year-old transgender teen was reportedly taking the Green Line Metro in D.C. around 4:30 p.m. yesterday when 24-year-old Reginald Anthony Klaiber approached the teen and her group of friends and began harassing her for her appearance. Klaiber then allegedly stabbed the teen with a knife before being maced by one of her friends.
"This crazy man got on the train and he.. was at my friend like, 'you're ugly.. are you a man?'" one of the teen's friends notes in the above video. "He pulled out a knife and stabbed my friend. And that's when I maced him."
While transgender visibility is certainly making strides within mainstream cultural consciousness, transgender people still face disproportionate levels of violence compared to other members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. A recent report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs found that transgender people, particularly transgender people of color, are among the groups at the highest risk for experiencing violence.
In addition to being charged with assault with a deadly weapon, Klaiber will also reportedly be held to D.C.'s new enhanced penalties for hate-motivated crimes. The teen reportedly sustained non-life threatening injuries and spent the night in the hospital.
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