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LOU CHIBBARO JR
Friday, July 25, 2008
Two
gay
men
were
treated
and
released
from
a
local
hospital
and
another
suffered
bruises
and
cuts
after
the
three
were
assaulted
last
week.
Police
and
a
friend
of
one
of
the
victims
said
five
unidentified
male
attackers
shouted
anti-gay
names
at
them
on
July
13
about
4:20
a.m.
on
the
1800
block
of
Kalorama
Road
in
Washington’s
Adams
Morgan
neighborhood.
The
GLLU
reported
that
the
five
unidentified
males
began
to
“verbally
berate”
the
gay
men
and
made
“homophobic
remarks
about
their
appearance”
inside
the
Pizza
Mart
carry-out
restaurant
on
the
2400
block
of
18th
St.,
N.W.
Acting
Lt.
Brett
Parson,
who
oversees
the
GLLU
and
who
interviewed
the
victims,
said
the
gay
men
and
the
five
assailants
exchanged
verbal
remarks
before
the
gay
men
left
the
restaurant
and
began
walking
home.
The
unidentified
assailants
followed
them
on
the
street,
continued
to
“hurl
homophobic
epithets”
at
the
gay
men,
and
physically
attacked
the
three
gay
men
on
Kalorama
Rd.,
according
to
Parson
and
the
GLLU
report.
Two
of
the
three
victims
are
domestic
partners,
Parson
said.
The
suspects,
who
are
described
as
black
males,
were
observed
fleeing
the
scene
on
foot
toward
Columbia
Road,
N.W.,
the
GLLU
report
says.
Parson
said
two
of
the
victims
were
treated
and
released
from
a
hospital
with
non-life
threatening
injuries.
He
said
both
the
suspects
and
victims
had
consumed
alcoholic
beverages
in
Adams
Morgan
bars
before
the
incident
began.
Dupont
Circle
Advisory
Neighborhood
Commissioner
Jack
Jacobson,
who’s
gay
and
is
a
friend
of
one
of
the
victims,
said
the
three
men
were
shaken
by
the
incident
and
have
so
far
decided
not
to
identify
themselves
to
the
public
and
news
media.
Jacobson
said
he
has
learned
of
a
separate
incident
in
which
a
gay
man
remains
hospitalized
after
being
beaten
and
robbed
near
14th
and
U
streets,
N.W.,
on
July
16,
but
he
could
not
determine
whether
the
motive
in
that
attack
was
robbery
or
anti-gay
bias.
“The
prevalence
of
hate/bias
crimes
has
remained
consistent
over
the
past
couple
of
years
and
although
spikes
do
occur
occasionally,
there
is
no
reason
to
believe
there
is
a
drastic
increase
[in
hate
crimes]
citywide
or
even
in
a
particular
area
of
the
city,”
Parson
said.
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