Watch: Couple Beaten in NYC Say Being Gay Made them Targets
A gay couple who were assaulted by strangers in Times Square and ended up in the hospital say they were targeted because of their sexuality, according to Fox 5 New York.
The couple, whose identities were withheld at their own request, described how they were walking hand-in-hand on the evening of April 8 when four strangers accosted them.
"They came up to us and they were like, 'You need to move,'" one of the victims tearfully recounted. "They started pushing us and we were like, 'What are you talking about?'"
One of the men used a cell phone to record the attack, which landed them both in the hospital for treatment for their injuries. The other needed surgery, and a metal plate, to repair his fractured jaw.
"There were at least four different people," one of the men told Fox 5 News. "They were all together," he added, before verifying that the assailants hurled slurs at them and made it clear that the attack was happening because they were gay.
New York City police stated that the assailants had "fled to parts unknown," and said "the investigation remains ongoing," with no arrests having been made yet.
Only two days earlier, a man was stabbed in the leg by an attacker in New York's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. EDGE previously reported that "the 44-year-old man was walking in the popularly known gay neighborhood when a group of men made an anti-gay remark toward him."
"Upon the victim confronting the men about the remark, two men punched the victim and another stabbed him in the leg," according to an NYPD spokesperson. No arrest has been made in that attack, either.
"New York City Council Member Erik Bottcher, who identifies as gay and whose district includes Hell's Kitchen, said he is 'enraged' by the attack," EDGE noted.
"New York City is a symbol of diversity and freedom throughout the world, and Hell's Kitchen is a haven for the LGBTQ+ community, and we will always stand up against hate of all kinds," stated Bottcher, before adding: "We will not be intimidated."
The NYPD recently arrested a trio of men wanted in connection with the robbery-related overdose deaths of two gay men in the city last year.
To watch the Fox 5 News report, follow this link.