Transgender Teen Stabbed 18 Times at Miami Airport
An Ohio man faces attempted murder charges for stabbing a transgender teen with a butcher knife and attempting to throw her over a railing.
A man has been arrested and charged in an attack on a 17-year-old transgender girl at Miami International Airport on July 20.
Alexander Love, 29, an Ohio resident most recently staying in Miami, faces charges of first-degree attempted murder with a deadly weapon and attempted premeditated murder for stabbing the victim at least 18 times and attempting to throw her off a fourth-floor balcony.
Miami-Dade police say the unidentified victim is a transgender girl who is in the process of transitioning. It’s unclear whether she was attacked due to her gender identity.
Officers responded to Terminal J in the airport around 11:30 p.m. after receiving reports of a stabbing, according to a news release from the police department.
The victim was reportedly eating a meal while seated on the floor in the pre-security area of the terminal, when Love allegedly began stabbing her without provocation in the face, head, arms, shoulder, neck, and legs.
He then attempted to throw her over the fourth-floor railing. The victim was able to escape by running down the stairs to the third-floor level, where officers found her.
Officers located Love and detained him, recovering a butcher knife in the process. In the midst of the chaos, police received reports of a possible active shooter, leading to the evacuation of two concourses.
Upon further investigation, they determined that the information was false and that only the stabbing had taken place.
Emergency medical technicians from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the scene of the stabbing and transported the victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition.
She underwent emergency surgery and is still recovering from her injuries at the hospital.
Video later posted to social media by Only in Dade, a citizen journalism website, appeared to show a woman covered in blood being assisted by a man.
News Update: A man has been charged with attempted first-degree murder after a woman was stabbed at Miami International Airport, causing an evacuation and temporary lockdown. Miami-Dade Police identified the suspect as 29-year-old Alexander Love, who allegedly stabbed the woman… pic.twitter.com/cERVsF3IOj
— ONLY in DADE (@ONLYinDADE) July 22, 2024
Surveillance video uncovered by police reportedly shows Love staring at the victim for some time before drawing the butcher knife from his backpack, reports the Miami Herald.
County officials say that both Love and the victim were homeless, though it’s currently unclear whether they had any prior acquaintance.
According to NBC South Florida, Love was detained by Customs and Border Patrol shortly after the attack. During an interview, he claimed to have become briefly acquainted with the teen at the airport.
He told investigators he was possibly drugged and that someone had inserted an unknown object into his rectum.
Love reportedly added that he was unsure if the teen was to blame, but made a statement indicating that he needed to hurt whoever hurt him, according to an arrest report. He claimed that was what motivated him to purchase the butcher knife used in the attack from a Target store close to Miami International Airport.
Appearing on July 22 before Judge Mindy Glazer of the 11th Judicial Circuit, Love was arraigned on charges and denied bond, citing the violent nature of the attack and the seeming lack of provocation.
He reportedly has a criminal record, having previously been charged with criminal mischief and resisting arrest, according to NBC.
Love is currently being held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. He was ordered to stay away from the victim if he should be released from custody in the future.
Despite the victim’s gender identity, Love was not charged with a hate crime.
Police say they do not have evidence at this time to indicate that the attack was motivated by bias, and have not yet talked with the victim. But any bias enhancements could be added at a later date if there is evidence to support such charges. The case remains under investigation.
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