A transgender man in Michigan says he was the victim of a transphobic attack in which he was shot in a pellet-gun attack while traveling along the sidewalk in a wheelchair.
Andrew Blake-Newton, 30, said he was shot five times over the weekend from a car full of people who mocked the disabled man and yelled anti-transgender slurs before laughing as they drove away.
Blake-Newton told a local NBC affiliate: ‘No one should have to go through this. No one.’
Police are now hunting for the suspects and are offering a $1,000 reward in the case.
The alleged attack occurred right after midnight on Saturday as Blake-Newton made his way from his home in Pontiac – outside of Detroit – to a gas station to get a snack.
He was traveling in his wheelchair on the sidewalk at the time of the attack, which allegedly came from passersby in a small, tan sedan.
‘It is reprehensible that someone would do such a cowardly and despicable thing to an individual in a wheelchair, and they need to be held accountable,’ Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.
He said a reward of $1,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the offenders.
In an interview, Blake-Newton displayed what looked like pellet-gun marks on several parts of his body, including his legs.
‘It was so bad I was leaking fluid, and puddles of fluid were around my legs at the hospital. Since this happened, I can’t get comfortable. I have barely been able to sleep due to the pain,’ Blake-Newton said.
Gareth Newton, Blake’s husband, said he is relieved that his partner wasn’t more grievously injured.
‘I’m glad he’s still with me. I would have been heartbroken if I’d lost him,’ he said, adding that he was grateful that the weapon used was ‘just a pellet gun.’
‘I have seen trans people of color on social media being gunned down,’ he said.
