NYPD Searching for Suspect Who Hurled Gay Slur in Hate Crime Assault

The New York Police Department is looking for a suspect who reportedly punched a man in the face while hurling a gay slur. The police have turned to CrimeStoppers in a bid to garner tips, and have released images of the suspect.

The assault took place on the afternoon of January 21 in Union Square Park, AMNY reports.

The news outlet said that "an unknown man approached" the victim, a 45-year-old man, "and punched him in the face." Then, "the suspect told the victim, 'I'm gonna kill you, you fucking homo.'"

The assailant and the victim were not acquainted, according to ABC 7.

News reports said that the victim "suffered pain and bruising to the mouth" from the attack.

The alleged assailant was reported by AMNY to be "a Black man between the ages of 25 and 30 years old" who was "wearing a purple hooded sweater, blue jeans and black sneakers."

As previously reported at EDGE, a teenager riding a bus in Manhattan was subjected to an anti-gay attack in November. The 19-year-old was confronted by a fellow passenger who told him, "I don't like people like you," and added, "I hate gay people." When the teen got off the bus the man followed him, struck him in the head, and then re-boarded the bus and departed.

Bias crimes, including anti-LGBTQ hate crimes, have soared in recent years. The Human Rights Campaign issued a press release following the publication of an FBI report last November that showed "hate crimes based on sexual orientation represent 16.7% of hate crimes, the third largest category after race and religion.

"The report also shows an uptick in gender identity based hate crimes rising from 2.2% in 2018 to 2.7% in 2019," the HRC noted.