ATLANTA — An Atlanta man wanted in an alleged anti-gay attack on a cyclist turned himself in on Wednesday. Michael Sanders was charged with battery in the May 23 attack on 24-year-old Quinn Chrzan.
Chrzan said he was riding his bike on the Atlanta Beltline when, as he approached Sanders, who was running on the trail, “stopped and he looked at me and called me a faggot.”
“I had no idea what I did to set him off,” said Chrzan, who speculated that Sanders may have thought he was riding too close to him on the trail.
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He said Sanders shouted anti-gay slurs at him before slamming him into a gate and punching him repeatedly.
“(He) kept calling me homophobic slurs and all I said to him was, Please don’t use homophobic slurs,’” Chrzan said.
Chrzan, who is not gay, used his cellphone to capture video of Sanders, and police were able to capture stills from the recording.
WSB-TV reports on the incident prior to Sanders turning himself in to police:
Sanders was released Thursday morning on $5,000 bond.
