The Philadelphia Police Department is looking for three juveniles it said attacked a male-born transgender with a corrosive chemical, causing burns to the face and body.

The victim, unnamed by police, was walking down a West Philadelphia street at around 1:30 p.m. Sunday when a chemical was thrown, PPD said in a release. 

“She was walking down the street going to her destination with her earphones in, so there was no interaction; nothing led up to this event,” PPD Capt. Robert McKeever told Philadelphia’s WPVI-TV.

Friends told the TV station that the victim’s name is Diana.

The juveniles accused of committing the attack boarded a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train shortly afterward, police said, while the victim was hospitalized.

PPD Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said the juvenile suspects are 8 to 12 years old, reported to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Police didn’t say which chemical was used, but investigators indicated Friday that it could have been battery acid, according to another Philadelphia station, WTXF-TV.

Diana is a transgender, friends told the Inquirer, and was on the way to Pride celebrations Sunday.

“She deserves to heal and go through this process with all the support she needs. She’s a really cool person, and this is shocking,” one of the victim’s friends, A.J. Frigoletto, told the newspaper.

Another friend, Shiloh Colon, told WPVI that “we really strongly believe this was a hate crime.”

Philadelphia Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, a Democrat, said on social media that she is “horrified that one of our transgender neighbors was attacked by what appears to be battery acid. Young people are not born with hate in their hearts. Instead, the politically motivated, anti-trans hatred spewing out of Washington indoctrinates our kids and incites terrible violence.”

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.