A transgender teen in Massachusetts says different excessive schoolers beat him at a celebration

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A transgender teenager from Massachusetts is recovering after allegedly being punched, kicked and stomped upon by different excessive schoolers at a celebration.

Sixteen-year-old Jayden Tkaczyk stated he was at an out of doors celebration Friday evening in Gloucester when as many as a dozen youngsters attacked him and known as him homophobic slurs. They chased Tkaczyk into the woods, the place police discovered him. He stated he was taken to an area hospital and handled for his accidents, together with a damaged bone beneath his proper eye and scratches and bruises on his physique.

“I used to be scared, however I believed to myself that if I escape and I get out, that issues will finally get higher,” Tkaczyk advised The Related Press. “As I used to be getting hit, it was terrifying. I believed I used to be going to die, however I attempted to maintain a constructive mindset.”

Tkaczyk’s mom, Jasmine, stated she was terrified when she received the decision that her son was within the hospital.

“This was my worst concern for Jayden. That is been my greatest concern for him as a mother of a transgender child,” she stated of him being assaulted. “Getting that telephone name was some of the terrifying issues to expertise. Having to go to the hospital to see him in that situation. After I received that decision, I used to be simply praying that he was alive.”

The Workplace of the Essex County District Legal professional stated it was “conscious of the intense allegations” and was working with the Gloucester Police Division on what it known as “this lively and ongoing investigation involving juvenile events.”

It will not remark additional, together with whether or not anybody has been arrested.

Tkaczyk, who stated he has been scared to depart his home because the assault, stated he hopes the teenagers are held accountable.

“Nobody has been arrested. Nobody has been charged, and nothing has occurred to the children that precipitated this,” he stated. “If folks or if the town desires to make this metropolis higher, then they need to begin taking motion to assist their neighborhood be safer.”

Massachusetts Legal professional Common Andrea Campbell stated MassEquality, an LGBTQ+ rights and advocacy group, has been in contact with the household and that they and others have reached out to her civil rights division and youngsters’s justice unit.

Campbell stated her workplace is actively following up on the grievance.

“What we’ve heard is horrific to say the least, however like several investigation we do it thoughtfully, we do it in partnership with neighborhood and constituents, and that received’t change right here,” she stated. “So we’ll do what we are able to to analyze this shortly and totally.”

Tkaczyk, who goes to a vocational faculty, stated he has lengthy been bullied as a result of he’s transgender, together with being compelled off the Gloucester Excessive Faculty soccer workforce. He stated the district up to now has completed nothing to handle his complaints about bullying however he hopes that modifications now.

“Bullying studies have been stacked up and stacked up and stacked up on youngsters bullying me not simply mentally however bodily,” Tkaczyk stated. “Over 11 years, I’ve been getting bullied. … It’s been a horrible and laborious battle for me, and I don’t divulge heart’s contents to anyone about how actually unhealthy it’s.”

Gloucester Public Colleges Superintendent Ben Lummis, at a press convention Tuesday, stated the district is taking the allegations critically. However the district didn’t reply to a request for touch upon Wednesday.

James Prepare dinner, the principal of Gloucester Excessive Faculty, despatched a letter Tuesday to the college neighborhood advising them of the weekend assault and advising kids “scuffling with information of this incident” or anybody who “feels unsafe for any motive” to hunt out a faculty workers member.

“Making a secure and inclusive atmosphere that helps all of our college students, workers, and households is our primary precedence,” Prepare dinner wrote. “Though this can be a troublesome message to ship the evening earlier than our first day, I’ve confidence that our workers will come collectively to welcome all college students again to GHS.”

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This story has been up to date to right to Jayden, not Jordan, in fifth paragraph.

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Related Press author Steve LeBlanc in Boston contributed to this report.