Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Man Assaulted in Second Possible Hate Crime Attack in 2 Days: NYPD

By Katie Honan | December 1, 2015 3:12pm

JACKSON HEIGHTS — A group of men shouting anti-gay epithets chased a man for several blocks before robbing and sexually assaulting him early Monday, in what police are investigating as the second possible hate crime in the neighborhood in two days.

The 23-year-old victim was leaving a restaurant on 81st Street and Roosevelt Avenue shortly after midnight Monday morning when he noticed three men nearby, police said.

He walked up to 83rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue and realized he was being followed.

When he ran, the three men chased him, catching up to him on 37th Avenue and 83rd Street, police said.

The suspects made anti-gay statements before beating, robbing and sexually assaulting him, police said. They fled, and the victim was brought to Elmhurst Hospital.

The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is looking into the crime, police said. 

Early Sunday, a 35-year-old transgender woman was beaten unconscious outside her home on 93rd Street, off Roosevelt Avenue, after having an argument with a man, police said. 

The NYPD is also looking into the earlier incident as a possible hate crime, they said. No arrests had been made in either case as of Tuesday afternoon.

Councilman Danny Dromm, who represents the area, said he is "shocked and outraged" by both attacks.

The alleged assaults are "are attempts to strike fear in the heart of the LGBT community and the neighborhood at large," Dromm said.