A transgender woman died from injuries she suffered when she was stabbed in the head at a bus stop in Northeast, officials said Friday.

The attack occurred around 8 p.m. Thursday at a bus stop near East Capitol and Sycamore streets, Metropolitan Police Department officials said.

Police are working with transgender activists in the District to identify the victim, who had a knife lodged in her head when officers arrived at the scene, sources said.

Transgender activist Earline Budd, who is among those working with police, said the woman was approached by a man at the bus stop and the two got into an argument. The argument turned physical, at which point the man attacked her.

A witness to the assault tackled the man, but after seeing how severely the woman was hurt got off the attacker to help her, Ms. Budd said. The man ran away.

Initial police reports identified the stabbing victim as a woman, but later clarified that the victim was a transgender person. Transgender activists said the victim was a transgender female.

Over the summer, two transgender women were attacked in separate shootings on a Northeast block located a little more than a mile away from the site of Thursday’s attack. One woman died of gunshot wounds while another escaped. Those attacks were investigated as possibly related and prompted concern among the District’s transgender activists for both the community’s safety and better communication by police in the handling of crimes against transgender people.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.