Transgender woman violently attacked at Minneapolis light rail station
Posted: Feb. 28 | Updated: 12:05 p.m., March 1
Content warning: The following article contains graphic details of an assault.
A transgender woman was violently attacked at a Minneapolis light rail station Monday morning, leaving her with a broken rib, collapsed lung and internal cranial bleeding, according to Hennepin County prosecutors.
Around 9:45 a.m., officers were dispatched to the light rail station on Lake Street for a violent assault.
The caller had advised dispatch that the woman was lying on the ground of the lower-level north tower on the ground.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Three suspects were observed assaulting her.
Two of the three suspects, 23-year-old Kevin York Jr. and 19-year-old Keaton Morris, have been charged with aggravated robbery and assault with Hennepin County District Court and brought to Hennepin County Adult Detention Center.
In the charges, officer say they’re concerned the attack was driven by “anti-transgender bias,” but did not elaborate further.
OutFront Minnesota, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, posted a statement on Instagram saying they are “deeply saddened” and “their heart goes out to her and to affected community members.”
It is not clear if officers were able to locate the third person involved in the attack.
The highest known single-year total for deaths of transgender and gender non-conforming people was in 2021, when at least 57 trans and gender non-conforming people were violently killed, according to the Human Rights Campaign. At least 32 transgender and gender non-conforming people were killed in 2022.