The Daily Populous Wednesday July 24th, 2024 evening edition
Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by WhileFalseRepeat

A man accused of stabbing a transgender 17-year-old girl with a butcher knife at Miami International Airport on Sunday was arrested and charged with attempted murder, police said.

Alexander Love, 29, was charged with first-degree attempted murder with a deadly weapon and attempted premeditated murder, according to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Officers responded to Terminal J around 11:30 p.m. after reports of a stabbing, officials said in a news release. The victim was eating a meal while sitting on the floor when, officials say, Love attacked her without provocation, stabbing her about 18 times in her face, head, arms, shoulders, neck and legs before he tried to throw her over a safety retaining glass, officials said.

"The victim was able to escape the attack and ran down the stairs to the third-floor level, which is where the officers found her," police said.

She was taken to a local medical center in critical condition and had emergency surgery, officials said. Her condition Tuesday afternoon was not available.

Love was taken into custody shortly after the attack by Customs and Border Patrol, the arrest report says. Officials said that at the police station, Love admitted to being involved in the attack and said he had become acquainted with the victim beforehand.

"The defendant added he was possibly drugged and someone inserted an unknown object in his rectum," the report says. "Although the defendant is not certain the victim is responsible for this, the defendant made a statement indicating he needed to hurt whoever hurt him and was prompted to purchase the knife at a Target store near Miami International Airport."

Police said they recovered a knife from the scene.

Love was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to online records. It's not clear whether he has an attorney.

He was denied bond in court Monday and ordered not to contact the victim, NBC South Florida reported.

Hate crime charges have not been ruled out because police have not been able to speak to the victim yet, a police spokesperson told NBC News.

EffectiveExtreme2144 on July 24th, 2024 at 01:08 UTC »

Here's a follow up with more info. They were both homeless and living at the airport https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/after-teen-stabbing-at-mia-miami-dade-homeless-trust-steps-in-to-help-those-living-at-airport/

AbsentThatDay2 on July 24th, 2024 at 00:44 UTC »

> Officials said that at the police station, Love admitted to being involved in the attack and said he had become acquainted with the victim beforehand.

I wonder if becoming acquainted with someone in this context means chatted up a stranger in the airport, or if it means the two knew each other beforehand. The rest of the article makes it sound like they didn't know each other before being at the airport. I suppose someone crazy enough to butcher someone in an airport is crazy enough to bring a butcher knife just in case they meet someone they don't like. What a world.

WhileFalseRepeat on July 24th, 2024 at 00:17 UTC »

> A man accused of stabbing a transgender 17-year-old girl with a butcher knife at Miami International Airport on Sunday was arrested and charged with attempted murder, police said.

> Alexander Love, 29, was charged with first-degree attempted murder with a deadly weapon and attempted premeditated murder, according to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Police Department.

> Officers responded to Terminal J around 11:30 p.m. after reports of a stabbing, officials said in a news release. The victim was eating a meal while sitting on the floor when officials say Love attacked her without provocation, stabbing her approximately 18 times in her face, head, arms, shoulders, neck and legs before attempting to throw her over a safety retaining glass, officials said.

> ”The victim was able to escape the attack and ran down the stairs to the third-floor level, which is where the officers found her," police said. She was taken to a local medical center in critical condition and she had emergency surgery, according to officials. Her current condition was not available Tuesday afternoon.

> Love was taken into custody shortly after the attack by Customs and Border Patrol, the arrest report states. Officials said that at the police station, Love admitted to being involved in the attack and said he had become acquainted with the victim beforehand.

> ”The defendant added he was possibly drugged and someone inserted an unknown object in his rectum," the report states. "Although the defendant is not certain the victim is responsible for this, the defendant made a statement indicating he needed to hurt whoever hurt him and was prompted to purchase the knife at a Target store near Miami International Airport."

> Hate crime charges against Love have not been ruled out because police have not been able to speak to the victim yet, a Miami-Dade police spokesperson told NBC News.

While the attacker might be clinically and mentally unwell in addition to any transphobia, I may never fully understand why some individuals are so incredibly threatened by the private lives of others and why they are compelled to manifest their phobias into hate.

Perhaps James Baldwin said it best…

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.”

Best wishes to the victim and their family.

Lock that bastard up.