A transgender teen in Massachusetts says other high schoolers beat him at a party

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A transgender teenager from Massachusetts is recovering after allegedly being punched, kicked and stomped upon by other high schoolers at a party.

Sixteen-year-old Jayden Tkaczyk said he was at an outdoor party Friday night in Gloucester when as many as a dozen teenagers attacked him and called him homophobic slurs. They chased Tkaczyk into the woods, where police found him. He said he was taken to a local hospital and treated for his injuries, including a broken bone under his right eye and scratches and bruises on his body.

“I was scared, but I thought to myself that if I escape and I get out, that things will eventually get better,” Tkaczyk told The Associated Press. “As I was getting hit, it was terrifying. I thought I was going to die, but I tried to keep a positive mindset.”

Tkaczyk's mother, Jasmine, said she was terrified when she got the call that her son was in the hospital.

“This was my worst fear for Jayden. This is been my biggest fear for him as a mom of a transgender kid,” she said of him being assaulted. “Getting that phone call was one of the most terrifying things to experience. Having to go to the hospital to see him in that condition. When I got that call, I was just praying that he was alive.”