The Boston Police Department has released photos of eight men suspected of involvement in an alleged hate crime against a gay couple in the city’s Mattapan neighborhood earlier this month. The images, several of them blurry, depict men of varying ages: one in a Red Sox hat with a white shirt and jacket; another with a small white beard wearing a Bass Pro Shop hat and black shirt; and a third, bald and in a maroon V-neck, sporting round sunglasses.
The other five suspects are pictured in varied outfits: a long-sleeved white shirt with jeans and white sneakers; an olive long-sleeve shirt with jeans; a black T-shirt and jacket with light blue pants, with hair in braids; a red sweatshirt with matching shorts; and a black-and-white tracksuit.
“Detectives assigned to the Civil Rights Unit are seeking the public’s assistance to identify the pictured individuals involved in an aggravated assault that occurred around 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, September 13, 2025, near 550 River Street in Mattapan,” the Boston Police Department wrote in a Facebook post. “Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact the Civil Rights Unit at (617) 343-4527.”
Community members can provide anonymous tips, photos, or videos by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS, texting “TIP” to CRIME (27463), or visiting police.boston.gov/crimestoppers. The BPD said the identities of those who assist will be protected.
The men in the photos are believed to have hurled homophobic slurs and taunts at a gay couple on their way to a local convenience store around 8 p.m. on September 13. An altercation followed, with the suspects allegedly swinging various unknown objects at the men in the couple, according to Boston.com.
The suspects are believed to have hurled homophobic slurs at a gay couple walking to a local convenience store around 8 p.m. on September 13. An altercation followed, during which the men allegedly swung unidentified objects at the couple.
During the fight, one of the victims was struck in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Police found him lying in a nearby parking lot, bleeding from the head, before transporting him to a local hospital for treatment.
Police are investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.
Third Way, a centrist think tank tied to the Democratic Party's pro-corporate shift of the 1990s, has issued a memo listing 45 "profoundly alienating" words it says Democrats should avoid.
Marketed as advice on how to "speak plainly," the list is framed as a way to keep moderates and swing voters from viewing the party as elitist or out of touch.
In its summary of its recommendations, Third Way argues Democrats have fallen into a trap of using activist-approved language to court advocacy groups.
"These activists and advocates may take on noble causes, but in doing so they often demand compliance with their preferred messages; that is how ‘birthing person' became a stand-in for mother or mom," the memo states. The term was originally meant to acknowledge that some transgender men and nonbinary people can become pregnant.
Police in Paris, France, have arrested a homeless Tunisian migrant accused of killing four men whose bodies were later found in the Seine River. The case began on August 13, when a commuter spotted a corpse floating in the river. Investigators subsequently recovered three more bodies from the same stretch of water.
Autopsies confirmed all four victims were men. At least two had been strangled, though forensic experts could not determine the exact cause of death for the others, according to The Times. Police are investigating the four deaths as homicides.
Boston police are investigating a possible hate crime after a gay couple was attacked while walking in the city’s Mattapan neighborhood on September 13, leaving one man with a head injury.
According to a police report, the couple had been heading to a convenience store on River Street just before 8 p.m. when a group of men began hurling anti-gay remarks at them.
One of the men confronted the group, sparking a "verbal dispute" that escalated into a physical attack on the couple, according to Boston.com.
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