Two gay men beaten in Miami Beach after Gay Pride Parade
Police are investigating incident as a hate crime, as assailants uttered anti-gay slurs during the attack
Police in Miami Beach are investigating after a gay couple was assaulted following the city’s Gay Pride Parade on Sunday.
The attack was captured on video by a surveillance camera, with footage showing four young men pushing and repeatedly punching the men, even after they fell to the ground, reports Miami NBC affiliate WTVJ.
The attack occurred Sunday night, shortly after 7:30 p.m. outside a restroom near the intersection of Ocean Drive and Sixth Street. A screenshot from the surveillance camera shows one of the suspects wearing an FIU T-shirt with red shorts, a man in a gray shirt and shorts carrying a red-and-white polka dot beach towel, a man in a black shirt and dark shorts, and another in a blue shirt and shorts.
“We probably provoked them because we were walking together, holding hands,” said victim Dmitry Logunov. “It was gay pride, South Beach was full of gay people.”
After Logunov was pushed, his boyfriend, Rene Charlarca, attempted to defend him, but was set upon by the group. The two men were left with cuts and bruises to their face and bodies.
Police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, as the four men uttered derogatory, anti-gay slurs in Spanish during the beating.
A third man was also injured when he tried to intervene to help Logunov and Charlarca. Helmut Muller Estrada told the Miami Herald that when he tried to help, one of the attackers knocked him out and he hit his head on the concrete. The gash on his head required four stitches.
Thus far, the attackers have not been identified or located. The three primary assailants are described as Hispanic white males, each about 5 feet, 8 inches in height, and approximately between the ages of 19 and 24.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about the assailants to contact the Miami Beach Police Department or the anonymous Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers tipline at 305-571-8477.
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