Kylie Perez is a student at Eastside High School in Newark, NJ. Kylie says she has been bullied at school since she transitioned in sixth grade.
They would call me gay and faggot.
--Perez
Last Tuesday, Kylie was walking in the school hallway when she heard a girl shout, "There's the tranny!" She was then sucker-punched in the head until she fell, when the kicking began.
It was all caught on surveillance camera (see the link).
The city's mayor, Ras Baraka, said he was "appalled" by the assault and planned to contact Perez and her family.
I join the LGBTQI community as well as the parents, students, and citizens of Newark who are appalled by the recent bullying and vicious attack on fourteen-year-old Kylie Perez, a transgender student, at East Side High School.
We must remain vigilant as a community and continue to denounce and to prosecute the hate crimes that are perpetrated upon members of the LGBTQI community. This act was particularly egregious because the victim is a young teen whose attackers assailed her without warning.
We were notified immediately and we immediately notified the Newark Police Department.
--School spokeswoman
Essex County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Katherine Carter confirmed the agency and city police were investigating the incident as an alleged bias crime.