FBI Seeks Man Connected to Brutal Bus Attack of Transgender Victim

The man punched, kicked and pulled a gun on his victim after boarding a MetroBus in Dutchtown

Dec 12, 2023 at 10:25 am

This man should be considered armed and dangerous, the FBI says. COURTESY FBI

The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of an unknown subject who brutally attacked a transgender person on a city bus.

The suspect, a Black man who the FBI estimates to be about 30 years old, punched, kicked and pointed a gun at the victim during the minute-long attack. It started after the suspect boarded a MetroBus at Chippewa Street and Grand Boulevard in the Dutchtown neighborhood of St. Louis city at approximately 3:30 p.m. on April 13.

A one-minute surveillance video posted by the FBI shows the violent attack, which started with what looked like a hard slap to the victim's face. It quickly escalated to punches, with the man pulling the victim out of their seat to kick them. Footage shared by the FBI blurs the victim's face along with that of two other passengers and the bus operator.

The assailant eventually pulled a handgun out of a tote bag and pointed it at the victim. The driver and passengers had remained seated until then, and the bus had continued to move down a street until well into the attack. After the bus stopped at what appeared to be a stop light, the assailant and one passenger left the bus shortly after the man pulled out his gun.

The suspect had beard, tattoos on his arms and a distinct scar on his right forearm. Tips can be sent to the FBI's St. Louis office or online at tips.fbi.gov.

The FBI is investigating this as a hate crime. According to the agency's latest hate crime statistics, there was a "significant" increase of anti-transgender incidents in 2022.