A 17-year-old transgender girl was stabbed nearly 20 times at Miami International Airport over the weekend, according to a police report presented in court on Monday. According to police, the girl was attacked “without provocation” soon after 11:30 p.m. Saturday on the fourth level of MIA’s Concourse J in the pre-security area.
Her identification has yet to be published. She managed to escape to the third story, where authorities discovered her. Alexander Paul Love, 29, is currently incarcerated at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in connection with the stabbing.
Police claim he ambushed the child with a butcher knife and slashed her 18 times, including the neck, face, and legs. Following his Monday morning court appearance, a judge ordered Love jailed without bond on attempted murder charges.
Police have not confirmed if Love and the child knew one other, but county officials told the Miami Herald that Love and the teen were living at the airport.
Ralph Cutie, director and CEO of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, which controls MIA, said it is unclear how much time Love spent at the airport. Cutie stated that police do nightly sweeps and attempt to assist homeless folks at the airport shelter. If they return, they may receive a written citation for trespassing. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told the Herald that her office was “going to review all of our protocols.”
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“We don’t want our airport to be a shelter, and we are going to continue to work diligently to find alternatives,” she told the crowd. “We have very excellent services to help the homeless around Miami-Dade County.” According to the report, the youngster was sitting on the airport floor eating lunch moments before the attack occurred.
Surveillance footage shows Love looking at the girl before pulling the knife from his rucksack. According to the story, police recovered the butcher knife at the scene. Shortly after the struggle, Love was held by Customs and Border Protection officers.
According to public records, Love, who is from Ohio, was arrested for misdemeanor domestic abuse in 2016. That case was dismissed shortly after. According to the story, Love is now homeless in South Florida, and court records show he was arrested in Miami-Dade in 2023 for low-level charges.
When Love spoke with detectives, he stated that he was possibly drugged. During the initial turmoil, police were rushed to the area for an alleged active shooter, causing panic at the airport. That, however, proved to be a bogus report.