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Gloucester, Mass.
Jayden Tkaczyk, 16, believes he was targeted for being transgender.
A 16-year-old transgender boy was severely beaten by a group in Gloucester, Mass., last week, and he believes he was targeted for his gender identity.
The crime happened August 30 in a wooded area where he was hanging out with friends. “One second, I was having fun, the next second, I was on the ground getting my face stomped and beat up,” Jayden Tkaczyk told NBC News.
He suffered “a broken bone in his face, nerve damage, a head injury and bruises all over his body,” NBC reports.
“They were just saying the f slur over and over and over as they were punching me and stomping me,” Tkaczyk said.
“He’s been bullied by these children for years because he’s trans,” said his mother, Jasmine Tkaczyk.
“This has always been my worst fear as a mom of a trans teen, getting that phone call that your son is in the hospital for getting beaten up,” she added.
Jayden Tkaczyk said his assailants were members of the Gloucester High School football team, which he played on as a sophomore. He now is a junior at a different school.
“I played on it for about a week or two before I had to quit because of the threats they were making towards me,” he said. Also, one of the suspects is dating his former girlfriend.
“It’s too early to tell right now” if the beating was bias-motivated, Gloucester Police Chief Edward Conley told NBC, but he said he’s called in an investigator with expertise in hate crimes.
Videos of the beating have been shared widely on social media. “We have access to many videos,” Conley said. “Our detectives are getting evidence sent to them, and they are aware of the social media posts that are out there.”
