September 28, 2014
Female Suspect in Anti-Gay Philly Attack Fired From Job
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
The female suspect in the Sept. 11 anti-gay Philadelphia attack has been fired from her hospital job Friday after controversial tweets she made regarding patient information went viral, according to ABC News.
Kathryn Knott, 24, who is also the daughter of a Pennsylvania police chief, is facing assault charges along with two male suspects, Kevin Harrigan, 26, and Philip Williams, 24, for allegedly beating a same-sex couple earlier this month.
Soon after the trio was charged with the crimes, they surrendered to police. Not long after that, Knott's tweets, where she also said things about LGBT people, foreign cab drivers, Asian people and her drinking habits, went viral, causing officials from Lansdale Hospital-Abington Health to suspended Knott.
Hospital officials told ABC News Friday that "Effective today, September 25, 2014, Kathryn Knott has been terminated from her employment at Abington Health."
The statement also reads:
"We are investigating an additional issue that was brought to our attention related to this employee's Twitter account for potential violations of patient privacy and our organization's social media policy. Abington Health takes patient privacy and confidentiality very seriously and is fully investigating this matter."
ABC News reports that Knott, from Southampton, Pa., was an emergency room tech at the hospital since 2011. The hospital said some of her tweets, which includes comments about apparent patients and photos of X-rays, violate their policy.
Most of Knott's viral tweets were made in 2012 and 2013.
"@krisssstenxoxo the ppl we were just dancing with just turned and mafe out with eatch other #gay#ew," she said in one tweet.
Though her lawyer says Knott is innocent, saying she is "kind and gentle," neighbors told local news stations off camera that they were "not surprised" about the chargers against her.
ABC News points out people have slammed Knott on social media, calling her "spoiled," "racist" and "a homophobic piece of garbage."
