A transgender teen who was brutally attacked by a group of high schoolers in Gloucester, Mass. says he was targeted because of his gender identity.
Jayden Tkaczyk, 16, says he was at an outdoor party late Friday night when a group of teenagers chased him into the woods and attacked him while hurling homophobic slurs.
“One second I was having fun and the next second I was on the ground getting my face stomped and beat up,” Tkaczyk told local station WCVB on Tuesday.
“They were just saying the F slur over and over and over as they were punching me and stomping me,” the teen added.
The Gloucester Police Department confirmed that officers responded to a wooded area near Dogtown Road at approximately 10:45 p.m. on Friday following reports of a missing person, who had last been seen in the woods.
When authorities arrived, they learned “there had been a dispute among teenagers” during the party, Gloucester Police said in a statement.
The group of teenagers had allegedly chased Tkaczyk into the woods. He was located by police and then rushed to a hospital.
According to his attorney, Craig Rourke, the teen has long been bullied because of his trans identity — a sentiment echoed by the teen’s mother, who says the assault was clearly a hate crime.
“Jayden told me as they were stomping on his face they were using the F slur so I don’t know how anyone can justify that and say that’s not a hate crime,” Jasmine Tkaczyk told WCVB.
“There was a lot of people on me, beating me up and I was getting stomped on and punched in the face and I had multiple knots all over my head like bruises,” the teen said.
On Tuesday, Gloucester Police Chief Edward Conley said the department is treating “these allegations with the utmost seriousness.”
Based on information gathered by police, a detective trained in civil rights has been assigned to lead the case, Conley told reporters at a press conference.
Gloucester Public Schools Superintendent Ben Lummis, who was also at the press conference on Tuesday, said the district is taking the allegations seriously.