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Tyler Flanagan said she and her friend were moving items in their storage unit when five men wearing Black Tie Moving shirts confronted them, shouting gender-based slurs and threats.
Tyler Flanagan said this is the first time she has felt unsafe as a transgender woman in Nashville.
A transgender woman in Tennessee says she’s lucky to be alive after she was viciously punched at her public storage unit. The attack was captured on surveillance video, which has since gone viral.
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Tyler Flanagan, a transgender woman and professional makeup artist, said she and a queer friend were visiting the Extra Space storage facility in Nashville on May 30 when a now-former employee of the Black Tie Moving verbally and physically assaulted her.
Related: Man charged with kidnapping and assaulting Texas trans woman
Flanagan said they were moving items in their storage unit when five men wearing Black Tie Moving shirts confronted them, shouting gender-based hateful slurs and threats.
“They misgendered us repeatedly, calling us ‘men,’ and yelled that they could ‘still beat our asses because we’re men,’” Flanagan posted to social media. “Their aggression was loud, hateful, and terrifying.”
Flanagan said they left the storage area and reported the incident to the facility manager in the front office. She said they also requested an escort to their vehicle, which was parked next to the Black Tie Moving van, but said the employees did not take the incident seriously and refused to provide an escort.
Related: Transgender woman shot and killed by food delivery driver, police say
As they were trying to leave, video shows one of the moving company employees, identified by Flanagan as Jeremiah Hendrix, entering the office and confronting Flanagan. She is seen trying to de-escalate the situation and leave the office, only to be struck by a powerful punch to her head thrown by the assailant.
“His assault was unprovoked, intentional, and fueled by hate,” Flanagan wrote.
“I was in utter shock,” Flanagan told local NBC affiliate WSMV. “Thank god I had my friend Taylor with me to pull me to safety.”
Related: Black trans woman A’nee Roberson killed after being assaulted and hit with a car in Washington, D.C.
Flanagan came out as a transgender woman five years ago, but has always found the community a safe space, until now.
“This was the first time in my years living in Nashville that I’ve truly feared for my life,” she wrote. “I was attacked by a grown man twice my size. I blocked part of the slap with my hand, but he still struck me in the face. If I hadn’t reacted, he might have knocked me out.”
Flanagan reported the attack to the Nashville Police Department. Officers were soon on the scene and watching surveillance footage of the attack.
Both Extra Space Storage and Black Tie Moving issued statements condemning the attack and distancing themselves from the alleged attacker.
“We are disturbed that this act of violence occurred on our property,” Extra Space Storage wrote in a statement. “While the individual involved is not affiliated with our company, we are cooperating fully with law enforcement in their investigation. We are also reaching out to support the customer affected by this incident.”
“Security footage captures a physical altercation that is deeply troubling and entirely unacceptable,” Black Tie Moving said in a statement posted to social media. “When the incident was brought to our attention, we took immediate and decisive action to terminate the employee involved. We also proactively contacted law enforcement and have offered our full cooperation to support a thorough and unbiased investigation.”
The case is still under investigation with the Special Investigations Division.
Flanagan said she feels she’s lucky to be alive.
“Those are situations that some people like myself don’t make it out of,” Flanagan told WSMV. “There’s a large percentage of people like myself who die from situations like this.”
