Seattle PD, FBI investigating hate crime after transgender person attacked on Capitol Hill

SEATTLE -- A transgender person was attacked on Capitol Hill Wednesday night after leaving a fundraiser for the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, Seattle police said.

The victim reports attending a benefit concert at Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., before walking to a car parked near the Wild Rose, a bar about two of blocks away. A white man in an orange sweatshirt approached the victim, Michael Volz, said "Happy Pride," and then began to punch and choke the victim, according to an account of the incident posted online.

The FBI has joined in the investigation, which police are classifying as a hate crime, authorities said.

"This is not an isolated incident. This is something that happens to our community frequently," Volz said at a Friday afternoon news conference, "and we won't tolerate it anymore."

Friends took Volz to the emergency room to be treated for cuts and bruises. The suspect used a transgender slur during the assault, investigators said Friday.

"I'm disgusted by this hateful attack," said Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole in a news release. "I want to assure the victim and the community that the SPD will leverage every resource to identify the suspect and bring him to justice."

The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s with brown hair and a partial beard. He was wearing an orange or copper-colored sweatshirt, blue jeans, and sandals.

The benefit was produced by Jetspace Magazine, a queer-centric Pacific Northwest publication, said Robert Roth, the editor-in-chief. Organizers raised more than $2,100 for the Equality Florida Fund.

"There were 200 people in there laughing and shouting and dancing and crying and showing affection for one another," Roth said. "It was just a great space to be queer - to be queer-bodied."

He heard about the attack the next day.

"It's heartbreaking, and it's even more heartbreaking because of the circumstances," Roth said, "because they were coming home from an event that was to benefit someone - a group of people that were attacked for being queer."

The Seattle Trans Pride parade is scheduled to start Friday at 6 p.m.

"I'm really encouraged by people who have shown up for me in the past 36 hours," Volz coninuted. "I'm hurt, but I feel encouraged by the people around me who love me who've shown up."

Seattle Police have increase patrols at Pride events planned downtown and on Capitol Hill throughout the weekend.

An online fundraiser for the victim topped more than $23,000 by Friday evening.