Police in Pennsylvania are searching for a New Jersey man wanted in connection to an attack of a transgender woman and non-fatal double shooting last weekend in Philadelphia.
Joel Martinez, a resident of Camden, New Jersey, is facing several charges including attempted murder and aggravated assault, stemming from a Sunday morning double shooting in Kensington.
Investigators say the violence unfolded after the victims and the attacker left a speakeasy near Rosehill and East Westmoreland streets. According to police, the transgender woman was beaten and pistol-whipped.
When two people who were with the woman, a 17-year-old and 22-year-old, tried to intervene police say the attacker fired at them. The 17-year-old was grazed in the back of the head and the 22-year-old was shot in the arm, according to police.
The violent incident may be investigated as a hate crime.
Anyone with information on Martinez’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Philadelphia Police Department.
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