Vancouver police announced Thursday they have made four arrests in connection to two separate attacks on gay men recently, both incidents of which are being investigated as possible hate crimes.
Constable Jana McGuinness announced the charges against Parminder Singh Bassi and Ravinder Singh Bassi, two brothers from Richmond, BC, who were arrested Wednesday morning and charged with assault causing bodily harm in the June 13 attack on David Holtzman and Peter Regier.
Regier and Holtzman were returning home from a concert and found two men drinking outside their building, one of them urinating near the door.
The two men turned on them, repeatedly calling them “fucking faggots” and “cocksuckers,” according to Holtzman.
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Holtzman said he and Regier were attacked without provocation. He received about 50 punches to his head and body and was twice bitten by his attacker.
The Bassi brothers have been released on bail, and are set to appear in court on July 5.
The arrests were announced at the same time as police revealed another “possible hate crime” that occurred Thursday morning in which a 30-year-old man was allegedly punched and beaten by two 21-year-old men.
Alexandre Tchernychev and Aaron Alexander Hahn of Vancouver were arrested in connection with the attack and charged with assault causing bodily harm.
