Family of transgender woman beaten in Dallas hopes police can find suspects

DALLAS - Dallas police are searching for suspects in a possible hate crime against a transgender woman.

Multiple people were caught on video beating the victim outside the Royal Crest Apartments on Wilhurt Ave.

Cell phone video of the attack was posted on social media Friday night, which shows a mob of people surrounding the victim, with multiple people kicking and stomping on her.

Police later responded to a local hospital, where the victim told them what happened.

So far, no suspects have been arrested, but police are still canvassing the area and talking to witnesses.

MORE: Dallas police investigating assault on transgender woman as possible hate crime

The victim's family says she didn't know her attackers, but they recognize some of the people on that video from the neighborhood.

“I just cannot explain how I feel about someone being that mean and evil to someone. How could you do that? How?” said Debra Booker, the victim's grandmother.

Booker is at a loss for words after seeing her grandchild beaten in a mob-style attack that was caught on video and posted to social media.

The victim has been identified by family members as Muhlaysia Booker.

The victim's grandmother said the victim was with her cousin visiting someone at the Royal Crest Apartments, when she accidentally backed her car into another car.

“The person got out of the car and then they started talking to their friends, and their friends started coming up and everybody started kicking and hitting Mulhaysia,” Booker added.

The three-minute video shows several people surrounding the victim, stomping and kicking her as she's trying to get away. Some screamed for them to stop, while others just watched.

It isn't until about two minutes into the clip that people are able to pull her away from the crowd.

The victim told police her attackers used homophobic slurs while beating her.

“Anyone who thinks it's acceptable just because she's transgender, something is wrong with them too,” the victim’s aunt, Quan Booker, said. “They need to seek some help. It's still a human being, period. Regardless of what her gender is, she's still a human being.”

Family members say the victim has a broken wrist, a swollen face, and she's in a lot of pain, but is home from the hospital recovering.

“The person needs to be turned in, the people that did it, all that. The apartments need to be ran down with a bulldozer,” said Pierre Booker, the victim’s father.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said he was disgusted watching the video, and police are working with a sense of urgency to try and identify the people responsible.

“When we as citizens see something bad, we've got to stop it. We've got to say something about it, we can't just sit back and be bystanders there,” Rawlings said.

Debra Booker, victim's grandmother

“I hope they get what's coming to them, and I know they will,” Debra Booker added.

The victim posted a message on Facebook on Saturday thanking her supporters.

Her family said she's not ready to speak publicly about the attack.