March 20, 2012
Another Gay Bashing Mars Hollywood's Streets
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
A gay man recently told Los Angeles police that he was attacked in Hollywood last weekend. The authorities are currently investigating the incident, which could be a possible hate crime, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Sgt. Sal Ogaz of the Los Angeles Police Dept.'s Hollywood Division said that three men approached the victim around 1:30 a.m. last Sunday. One of the attackers asked the unidentified man if he was gay and when he answered that he was, the three men beat him. The attackers fled the scene when a witness intervened, Ogaz added.
The man was then taken to the hospital, where he is said to be in stable condition, ABC affiliate KABC 7 in Los Angeles points out. The news station also noted that the L.A. authorities do not have "a solid description of the suspects."
The incident upset residents and the local LGBT community.
"We just had a few attacks last year," said Jake Finney of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center. "There's no signs of hate violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people going away."
In January, a 66-year-old gay man was found dismembered in the Hollywood Hills. Hervey Medellin was a former employee of Mexican Airlines and his severed head was found in a local park. His hands and feet were later found nearby.
"Neighbors say Medellin lived with his boyfriend and his dog in a Hollywood apartment complex," CBS affiliate Channel 2 in Los Angeles reported. "The LAPD spent hours collecting evidence here over the weekend. Investigators are now looking in Medellin's latest relationship and his past marriage to a woman."
"It's crazy, it's creepy . . . just to think I'm living under a guy that got murdered,' said neighbor Nicholas Hadgiantonas."
Watch a video of KABC 7's report below: