Dallas suspect arrested in brutal hate crime against transgender woman

Dallas police on Sunday arrested a man accused in the brutal beating of a transgender woman that was caught on video and shared on social media.

Police charged Edward Thomas, 29, was with one count of aggravated assault for his alleged role in what authorities have flagged as a hate crime. Cell phone video captured a homophobic mob drag Muhlasya Booker across the ground and viciously kick and punch her in the face in broad daylight outside a crowded parking area of an apartment complex on Friday, The New York Daily News reports.

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The footage shows Booker trying to defend herself, and she later told police that the suspects hurled homophobic slurs during the assault. Thomas was arrested Sunday evening for “his role in the aggravated assault.”

Dallas Police Department said in a statement that a “minor traffic accident” sparked the incident.

“During a verbal altercation regarding the accident, a male suspect began to physically assault the victim before several other suspects joined in the assault,”  the statement said.

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Yona Gavino, reporter for CBS/DFW, tweeted that “the father of #muhlaysiabooker is outraged and heartbroken, after his transgender daughter was viciously beaten last Friday.”

She went on to write that the “a mob of people watched and recorded” the violent scene on their cell phones. Booker suffered facial injuries and a broken wrist, Gavino wrote.

She later added, “The father of #muhlaysiabooker has seen the video and told @CBSDFW “I felt like I wanted to cry, but the tears just wouldn’t come out.”

The distraught father also admits to feeling anger after watching the clip, saying he stopped himself from confronting suspect.

The Dallas Police are reportedly still investigating the attack.

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