New York City Police are searching for a man who allegedly assaulted two men in a possible hate crime, police said.
In an email to Newsweek, the NYPD said that a man approached two men, who were drunk, and began to allegedly yell homophobic slurs at them on Sunday in Brooklyn, New York at 12:55 a.m. The suspect allegedly punched a 34-year-old man in the face and caused him to lose consciousness, and then threw the 29-year-old victim against a tree, causing him to become unconscious, according to police.
The 34-year-old suffered from a fractured shoulder from the attack, while the 29-year-old man suffered a broken finger. The suspect fled the scene in an unknown direction, according to police. The NYPD is the public for help with information on the attack to help them search for the suspect. The suspect is a white male who was last seen wearing a black shirt, beige pants, and black and white sneakers, according to police.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are confidential.
In August, the NYPD was searching for a suspect who assaulted another man in a violent hate attack on a bus. The NYPD said in a statement that "an unidentified individual approached the male victim on the bus and struck the victim in the face with a closed fist and made an anti-white remark." A spokesperson from the NYPD previously told Newsweek that there was a homophobic element to the attack.
A recent data report from the FBI shows that hate crime incidents against the LGBTQ community have risen. In 2016, there were 6,121 hate crime incidents reported, an increase of five percent from 2015. There were 1,076 hate crimes committed based on sexual orientation bias, according to the report.
In May, the Denver Police Department arrested a man for allegedly stabbing two gay men because they were holding hands. Dylan Payne, 24, was arrested for stabbing Chris Huizar, 19, and Gabriel Roman, 23, with a pocket knife while they were walking home from Church nightclub on Sunday, May 27. The couple previously told KUSA they were on their way home when Payne began to yell homophobic slurs at them before attacking the two men.
