12mo ago

Man accused of stabbing transgender teen 18 times at Miami airport

www.nbcnews.com

The 17-year-old was having a meal on the floor when she was attacked with a butcher knife Sunday. Officials say they aren't yet ruling out hate crime charges.

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.

72 comments

How the fuck did this guy get a butcher knife into an airport?
- Thank god for the TSA, keeping us all safe from 4oz of shampoo and water bottles, though, right?
  
  You jest, but we all know the damage you could do with a 5oz bottle of shampoo is incalculable.
  
  I’m so f’n tired of this shit. Bonus tired for bringing up the tsa low hanging fruit in an area they don’t even check. I’m not a tsa fanboy, but does nobody here remember security before 9/11? You understand that the reason for liquid limitation is that the combined amount allowed was determined to be less likely to be able to take down an airplane if used to make a multi-part explosive?
  The contractors hired by the airlines? All the people they couldn’t re-hire on to the tsa because of criminal histories they’d lied about when applying to the tsa after having worked contract security for the airlines? Lucky if they spoke English? All the ones with fake green cards and the like?
  Y’all think that was stellar security? Want privatization so we can go back to security where the bottom line is always the focus, your demise is an acceptable risk at some point when calculated on a quarterly report spreadsheet?
  Downvote me to shit, but there is no perfect system. This system is a damn sight better than what came before, and while some might call the tsa “security theater”, the predecessor was barely better than amusement park bag checks.
- He didn't. The attack occurred in the pre-security area.
  https://www.miamidade.gov/police/releases/PD240720227799_Stabbing_MIA.asp
- By walking through the front doors, as at most airports in the world.
  You realize walking into an airport is no different than walking into a mall?
  
  I think one has planes.
  
  You realize walking into an airport is no different than walking into a mall?
  I haven't been to an airport in years where food was available outside the secure side.
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."
Appears not to be a random hate crime.
- More likely he’s using meth.
  
  I think you're giving a bit too much credit to someone mentally deficient enough to commit such a violent act. Still, it is a reasonable assertion.
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.
Airports that late are just creepy in general considering how empty they are. I've been in them and rarely seen anyone beyond a handful of passengers and some janitors in those concourses when I was waiting for a late night flight. I could absolutely see someone being attacked in one for any number of reasons. I'm glad she was able to escape and he was caught.
- It was all part of gods plan.
- That sounds like a horrifying memory and I'm sorry you have to live with that.
  
  Plot twist: OP is the assailant.
  Edit: apparently /s was required.
Please, continue pretending like not voting isn't violence against the LGBT community
- Fine, I'll vote against stabbing teenagers 18 times with a butcher knife
Surely this has nothing to do with the rhetoric of our political leaders
How did the attacker have a knife in a secure terminal?
- He didn't. The attack occurred in the pre-security area.
  https://www.miamidade.gov/police/releases/PD240720227799_Stabbing_MIA.asp
- Where does it mention secure terminal?
  
  The article says “officers responded to [an incident in] terminal J”. Every airport I’ve ever seen, large and small, have had the terminal behind security.
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."
- Yeah, I'm trans and I have an aunt with schizophrenia. After I came out she started behaving very strangely whenever I am around. For example, she doesn't call me by my name or my deadname, and instead makes up strange nonsense words that she calls me. Then she gets angry when someone tries to correct her. I only see her at holidays and I always dread going whenever she has been invited because she makes me very uncomfortable.
I'm pretty concerned that a 17 year old needing to live at the airport doesn't cause much more uproar, and that many more people are living at airports in places like Miami.
- The article doesn't say she lived at the airport...
  
  Shit, different article I read yeaterday said both victim and perpetrator were living at the airport
- Could be traveling and was dropped off at the terminal too early to be allowed through security. I've done that---got dropped off at Logan airport at 9 pm for my 6 am flight. It's when I could catch a ride. Ended up sleeping in shifts with some other college students in the same boat, all heading home for winter break.
- If you have an international layover, you have to go through customs and then recheck your bags and go through security again. Airlines now (not sure if this is some or all of them, or how long this has been policy) will only let you check your bag within 4 hours of your departing flight. So one time I had an 8 hour layover, where I couldn't get back into the airport for 4 hours.

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