DALLAS — Two gay men were the victims of a brutal early morning attack on Tuesday and were beaten with baseball bats in what Dallas police are classifying as a hate crime.
According to police, the victims were walking to a corner store at about 2 a.m. when five men in a car pulled up alongside them and began shouting anti-gay slurs.
“There were believed to be 5 black male suspects in their 20’s inside the vehicle. Some of the suspects exited the vehicle, and two of them were brandishing baseball bats,” according to a statement issued by Dallas police.
“The suspects attacked the two victims causing multiple injuries requiring medical treatment. This violent act constituted a hate crime and is being investigated accordingly.”
The two assailants reportedly called the victims “fags and sissy” before exiting the vehicle with baseball bats.
Investigators said the attackers hit one of the victims at least four times in the head and knocking him unconscious until after the suspects left.
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The other victim attempted to fight back and got caught in the passenger side of the suspects’ vehicle, reported the Dallas Voice. The suspects dragged the victim an unknown distance before he could free himself.
A friend of the victims, who asked not to be identified for all of their safety, said one man had to get eight staples in his head. The other victim has bruises covering his face and scabs down his arms and legs.
The attack “was because they were gay,” the friend told KXAS-TV.
