Young trans woman reports attack: she was hit on the head with a gun

Fernando Carrasco, a 20-year-old trans man, reported that he was attacked by two people in a commune south of Santiago.

Trans masculinity attack in Chile, November 2020

November 16, 2020

By Airam Fernández, from Santiago, Chile

Photo: Instagram

On the night of Thursday, November 12, Fernando Carrasco, a 20-year-old trans man, went out to buy a drink in San Bernardo (a commune south of Santiago) accompanied by his uncle. He returned home with head injuries, a bleeding forehead, and wounds on his shoulder and chest.

In an interview with Presentes, he reported that two people he knew attacked him in the street for no apparent reason. He said they wanted to kill him. “We were walking down the street and suddenly they appeared and crossed directly toward me. They didn't say anything to me, or I don't remember. I only saw Isaac pull out a gun and hit me in the forehead with the butt. I went black and fell to the ground,” he recounted.

Fernando works in commerce and lives with his grandmother, mother, and sister. He knows his attackers from the streets of San Bernardo, a suburb south of Santiago. He told Presentes that he ran into them at parties a couple of times. In fact, every time he saw them on the street, he yelled things at them. “Once, one of them even came to my house and threw stones,” he said.

They were shouting at him: “Shoot him!”

He doesn't know how long he was unconscious. But he does remember that afterward they started insulting him: “One of the attackers was a woman, and she was yelling at the other attacker, 'Shoot that fucking lesbian!' She was yelling at me that I would never be a man and other very transphobic things.” He also doesn't remember when they left, but he says that his uncle, as best he could, took him back home. There he fainted again, and his sister called the police because he was bleeding heavily.

A police patrol arrived at his house to take him to the emergency room at the San Bernardo Parish Hospital. Fernando said his medical report indicates a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and several stab wounds to the chest, although he doesn't remember seeing a knife, only the firearm. A short time later, he says, the Carabineros (police) returned to pick him up and took him to the 14th Police Station to file a report. Afterward, they took him to identify where his attackers lived.

“They are threatening my friends for helping me.”

As of the time of this report, Fernando did not know if the police had returned to search for his attackers. He also did not know if there were any arrest warrants, although he knew they were still at large. Presentes tried to contact the 14th Police Station in San Bernardo, but they did not answer their phones on Friday afternoon.

Fernando is doing better and recovering at home. He has the support of his family, friends, and the Trans Diversities Organization (OTD). He fears for his life and the lives of those close to him. “My friends are being threatened for helping me report the incident and for sharing the information on social media,” he said.

On Friday, November 13, at midday, several LGBTQ+ organizations met with the Undersecretary of Crime Prevention to discuss the escalating violence in Chile over the past several weeks. They also discussed the progress of an exploratory study they are conducting on violence and hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people. Part of this research will be based on the results of an survey that is still available. In a press release issued after the meeting, the institution stated that the results will be available during the first half of 2021 and that, to date, more than 2,000 surveys have already been completed.

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