Police in Dallas have arrested a man in connection with a mob-like attack on a transgender woman.
The assault took place Friday in broad daylight at a crowded parking area in an apartment complex south of downtown.
Edward Thomas, 29, was arrested Sunday evening for “his role in the aggravated assault.” The incident has been flagged as a possible hate crime.
The vicious beating, which was caught on cell phone video, shows Muhlasya Booker on the ground trying to defend herself as she gets repeatedly kicked, stomped on, punched in the face, and dragged around by a mob of people.
She told police that the suspects used homophobic slurs during the assault.
“The victim was involved in a minor traffic accident,” Dallas Police Department said in a statement. “During a verbal altercation regarding the accident, a male suspect began to physically assault the victim before several other suspects joined in the assault.”
Her family said she suffered a broken wrist and several face fractures, but she’s now recovering at home, according to NBC 5.
“I just cannot explain how I feel about someone being that mean and evil to someone. How could you do that? How?” Debra Booker, the victim’s grandmother, told Dallas’ Fox4News.
A representative from the Dallas Police media relations office told the Daily News that the video is still being analyzed in the “still very much active” investigation, but no further information on other suspects is currently available.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said on a Facebook statement that he is “extremely angry about what appears to be mob violence against this woman.” He said that police is investigating “the possibility that this was a hate crime,” and that the perpetrators “do not represent how Dallasites feel about our thriving LGBTQ community. We will not stand for this kind of behavior.”
