PHILADELPHIA - Police are searching for a New Jersey man wanted in connection to an attack of a transgender woman and non-fatal double shooting last weekend in Philadelphia.Joel Martinez, a 21-year-old Camden resident, is facing several charges, including attempted murder and aggravated assault, stemming from a Sunday morning double shooting in Kensington.
Investigators say the violence unfolded after the victims and the attacker left a speakeasy near Rosehill and East Westmoreland streets.
According to police, the transgender woman was beaten and pistol-whipped. When two people who were with the woman, a 17-year-old and 22-year-old, tried to intervene police say the attacker fired at them.
The 17-year-old was grazed in the back of the head and the 22-year-old was shot in the arm, according to police. FOX 29's Kelly Rule reports that the violent incident may be investigated as a hate crime.