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SAN DIEGO -- Five gay men were beaten with baseball bats and one of themwas stabbed as they left the San Diego LGBT Pride Festival around 10:45p.m. on July 29.The attacks, perpetrated by three white males, occurred in a shortperiod of time in the same general area of Balboa Park after the victimsdeparted a main-stage concert by '80s pop singer Deborah (Debbie)Gibson. One of the men "had his skull bashed in and he's going to have to havereconstructive surgery," said Fred Sainz, openly gay press secretary to Mayor Jerry Sanders. The other four were treated at hospitals and released.
4 Comments:
I heard about that. That definitely sucks when three men were attacked in Balboa Park (and it is within walking distance of the controversial Boy Scouts camp). I am waiting for the SDPD to release the identities of the attackers to see what kind of bigots they are. I wonder if they fit the stereotype (a couple of bigots coming in from Lakeside/Santee in a big pickup truck) or not.
This is not the first time something bad happened at SD Pride. It went through bigots hurling gas canisters, a low-flying plane with a bigotted message (pre-9/11), and assholes like James Hartline and former mayor Roger Hedgecock.
Blood From Machines San Diego, CA
posted by Anonymous, at
8/01/2006 1:08 PM
(Here's another article. This one's from teh San Diego Union-Tribune.)
Arrest made in hate-crime attack after gay pride fest
By Karen Kucher UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM
and Joe Hughes UNION-TRIBUNE
9:50 a.m. August 1, 2006
SAN DIEGO – Police on Tuesday said they have arrested one person in connection with the hate-crime attack on five victims near Balboa Park as a gay pride festival ended Saturday night. “We're still trying to put together what we've got. We've got one person in custody and the investigation is continuing,” said Capt. Chris Ball.
Ball did not release any other details about the arrest. San Diego police Monday night served a search warrant at an apartment on First Avenue in Park West in connection with the case and were questioning three people.
Police said three young men attacked the victims with baseball bats and a knife. The assault was an unprovoked hate crime that will be prosecuted as an attempted murder, city officials said Monday.
The victims were confronted about 10:45 p.m. on Redwood Circle, near the lawn bowling center east of Sixth Avenue and north of Laurel Street. Authorities said the assailants taunted their victims with anti-gay insults as they were beating them.
“Clearly, these animals wanted to push these men back into the closet,” Mayor Jerry Sanders said at a City Hall news conference Monday. “We won't and shouldn't allow that to occur.”
One of the victims remained hospitalized with a fractured skull and may have to have possible reconstructive surgery. Another suffered superficial stab wounds.
Five detectives have been assigned to the case and Police Chief William Lansdowne expressed confidence that arrests will follow.
“I am absolutely convinced we will solve this crime,” he said Monday.
Councilwoman Toni Atkins, whose district includes Balboa Park, said, “The quicker we solve this crime, the safer the community will be.”
Anyone with information about the attackers is asked to call (619) 531-2000 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-TIPS.
Blood From Machines San Diego, CA
posted by Anonymous, at
8/01/2006 1:22 PM
They have the assailants. This is why it is so necessary that people be aware of hate crimes.
posted by Anonymous, at
8/02/2006 7:03 PM
Now I heard the motive of the attackers: it is part of an initiation into a gang called the "Lowlifes" (sounds very generic). It is a shame that both wannabe gangbangers and the religious right want to prey after the LGBT community for their own selfish goals.
