Transgender woman 'beaten unconscious' by mob in Texas

‘I am extremely angry about what appears to be mob violence against this woman,’ says mayor of Dallas

Edward Thomas (Dallas Police Department)

Police are investigating the brutal beating of a transgender woman in Texas after an apparent outbreak of “mob violence” was caught on camera.

A video posted on Facebook reportedly showed the woman being attacked and insulted with homophobic slurs near an apartment complex in southern Dallas.

Dallas Police Department said in a statement that 29-year-old Edward Thomas had been arrested for his suspected role in an “aggravated assault”.

The victim reported the attack on Friday while receiving hospital treatment, telling officers it had occurred soon after she was involved in a minor traffic accident next to the apartment complex.

Police said “several other suspects” had joined in the assault after the primary male suspect began beating the woman.

“The department is investigating this offence and reviewing all available evidence to determine if it will be classified as a hate crime,” said a spokesperson.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said he was “extremely angry about what appears to be mob violence against this woman” after viewing the video.

He added: “Those who did this do not represent how Dallasites feel about our thriving LGBTQ community. We will not stand for this kind of behaviour.”

A police spokesman said on Sunday that the woman’s identity would not be released.

Her family told NBC’s Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate that she suffered a broken wrist and several face fractures. They previously said she had been beaten to the point of unconsciousness in the attack.

Last November, the FBI reported that 7,175 hate crimes were committed in the US in 2017, the most recent year for which the agency had compiled data. Of those, 1,130 were based on sexual orientation bias and 119 on gender identity bias.

The data showed a 5 per cent increase in hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation bias on the year previously and a 4 per cent decrease in hate crimes motivated by gender identity bias.

Additional reporting by AP