Transgender Massachusetts Teen Beaten in Possible Hate Crime

Jayden Tkaczyk / NBC video screenshot

“One second, I was having fun, the next second, I was on the ground getting my face stomped and beat up,” Jayden Tkaczyk, 16, said. His mother said the attack was her worst fear and described the attack as a hate crime.

Trigger warning. Vivid descriptions of violence.

The Gloucester Police Department said in a press release that the "parties involved in this incident are known to one another."

A detective trained in civil rights investigations had been assigned to lead the case, police said, and a spokesperson for the department confirmed to ABC News the incident is "being investigated as a possible hate crime."

"The investigation remains ongoing and no determination has been made at this stage," the police spokesperson said.

The teen has previously faced bullying for being trans, Rourke said.

Jayden, who attends a local vocational high school, joined the Gloucester High School football team last year but quit after only a few practices because the "bullying got so severe," according to Rourke.