Tag: LGBTQ violence

Posted on

Gay Man Robbed & Beaten To Death Christmas Day Over $1

A 60-year-old gay man was violently beaten to death on Christmas Eve defending his partner from a gang of robbers who left the scene of the crime having stolen a single dollar. Juan Fresnada and his 29-year-old partner Byron Caceres were leaving a McDonald’s restaurant in the Bronx near 1:30 a.m. when a man approached the couple demanding money. Friends of the couple told NBC New York, “The guys just told them ‘Give me the money, give me the money.’ He was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’” The couple reportedly tried to avoid the conflict by heading into a nearby deli, but the perpetrator followed them, and things quickly escalated. “My husband tried to defend me,” Caceres told the New York Daily News. “The guy had his fist ready like he was ready to attack me. My husband said, ‘Don’t you get close to him.’” Two other men joined the first and began to beat the couple. Defen defending his partner, Fresnada told Caceres to run to safety. According to Caceres, the assault lasted between 10 and 15 minutes as the robbers beat Fresnada relentlessly before smashing a steel trash can on his head leaving him in the middle of East 165th Street with severe injuries to his legs and head.

When Caceres returned, he doesn’t own a cell phone and couldn’t call the police, his partner was bleeding and breathing heavily. The younger man attempted CPR but a bystander said that might not be a good idea since Fresnada was breathing so heavily. According to NBC New York, throughout the ordeal, no one stopped to help the couple. Eventually, an ambulance arrived to take the older man to a nearby hospital where he was treated for a fractured skull which led to swelling in his brain and blood pooling in the back of his skull. The younger man refused treatment and is expected to fully recover. Fresnada remained hooked up to a ventilator and unresponsive until he died from his extensive injuries on Friday, December 27. Caceres says he doesn’t believe the attack was a hate crime as he doesn’t remember hearing any homophobic slurs during the assault. The two men met in 2015 through a program for low-income gay men and have been inseparable since. The police have released this montage of surveillance footage of the men. Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

(source: NBC New York, New York Daily News)

Posted on

Gay Bashing Victim Left With Severe Head Injuries

A gay man was brutally attacked on the streets of Belfast, Northern Ireland, after kissing another man in a bar. Christopher Haughey’s injuries to his head were so severe from the beating five staples were required to close the wound to his head. The 31-year-old told Belfast Live he walked to the bus stop on Saturday afternoon after spending time in a nearby bar. When he arrived at the bus stop, he realized he had a long wait ahead of him, so he walked to the other side of a building to eat food he’d purchased. “I came back round the corner and I was attacked at the lights,” Haughey. “It was two people: They pushed me and then hit me with something over the head.” He told the police he believes his assailants attacked him because they saw him kissing another man in the bar. “There’s no other reason why it would have happened.” The police were called to the scene, and they transported him to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he was treated. But the assault left him shaken. “It’s embarrassing that it’s happened, it’s humiliating,” said Haughey. “It really knocks your confidence. It’s embarrassing to lift your hand to anybody.” The Police Service of Northern Ireland are investigating the incident, and are asking for help in identifying and locating the men. The authorities ask anyone with information to call CrimeStoppers at 0800 555 111. (source: Belfast Live)

Posted on

Teens Plead Guilty To Attack But One Says It Wasn’t A Hate Crime

Melania Ramirez and Christine Hannigan shared this photo on social media after being attacked on a bus in May 2019

Melania Ramirez and Christine Hannigan shared this photo on social media after being attacked on a bus in May 2019
Christine Hannigan & Melania Ramirez (image via Facebook)
Three UK teens have pleaded guilty to harassing and threatening a lesbian couple on a late-night bus ride in London in the early hours of May 30 this year, but one denies it was a hate crime. As I reported this summer, Christine Hannigan and Melania Ramirez (surname formerly Gaymonat) were approached by four teenage boys who began taunting them and demanding they kiss. When they refused, the teens surrounded the couple taunting them, making sexual gestures, throwing coins at them and eventually punching the women. As a result, Hannigan’s jaw was injured and Ramirez’s nose was broken requiring medical treatment for both women. “They started behaving like hooligans, demanding that we kissed so they could enjoy watching, calling us ‘lesbians’ and describing sexual positions,” Ramirez wrote in a Facebook post accompanied by a photo showing the couple left bloody by the incident. “I don’t remember the whole episode, but the word ‘scissors’ stuck in my mind.” After the assault, which lasted about nine minutes, the teens departed taking Hannigan’s handbag with them. After the four teens were arrested this summer, they appeared in court on Thursday for an anticipated two-day trial. But before the proceedings could begin, three of the teens (aged 15, 16 and 17) pleaded guilty to using threatening words or behavior to cause harassment while charges against the fourth were dropped, according to Sky News. CCTV footage of the incident was viewed in court showing the boys approaching the women soon after the couple boarded the bus which Prosecutor Saira Khan characterized as “the tide washing in.” Hannigan testified in court on Friday saying the boys made comments about ‘scissoring’ and asked them to show how lesbians have sex. She called the teens’ demeanor “aggressive” and “scary” The 16-year-old boy also pleaded guilty to handling a stolen mobile phone and the 15-year-old admitted to handling a stolen bank card. The 17-year-old admitted to throwing coins at the women but denied being hostile towards the couple based on their sexual orientation. During the Thursday hearing, Judge Susan Williams said the abuse “was quite clearly directed towards this couple because of who they are.” Solicitor David Wood, representing the 17-year-old, admitted the coin-throwing was “pathetic” and constituted a criminal offense, but added, “It has nothing whatsoever to do with an attack based on hostility with regards to sexual orientation.” Judge Williams addressed the 17-year-old directly saying, “You say you were not being hostile to these ladies on the basis of their sexual orientation. That is an issue that has to be resolved because it does make the case more serious if the court comes to the decision that this was what was going on at the time and it does mark it as more serious.” “I think it will be a hair-splitting exercise but it’s perfectly obvious that this was a same-sex couple that has provoked their interest and the interaction between them,” added Judge Williams. “The offense cannot be explained in any other way. I do regard this as an aggravating feature and it would be reflected in the sentence.” (source: Sky News, The Guardian)

Posted on

Swiss Father Slits Son’s Throat For Being Gay

(image via CEN)
A gay teen in Switzerland has shared his shocking story of an attempt by his own father to kill him. The 17-year-old, identified as “Seran M” in the press for his own protection, told the Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten that he woke one night to find his father holding a knife to his throat. According to a Google Translation of the news report, the father shouted at the teen, “You’re gay, you’re gay?” And at that point, he slid the blade across the teen’s neck. Seran says he fought off his father while sustaining further injuries to his neck and upper body. Eventually, the teen escaped the attack across a balcony and sought safety at a neighbor’s home. Due to the severity of his injuries to his throat, chest, arms, and back, he was flown to the University Hospital of Bern. “Fortunately, he narrowly missed the carotid artery, but my trachea was badly injured,” shared Seran. “I had to be put in an artificial coma.” Seran, whose family is from Iraq, told 20 Minuten he doesn’t know how his father discovered he is gay adding, “I’ve always hidden my homosexuality from my family.” Since leaving the hospital six months ago he lives on his own in Bern and feels he is “a freer person than before the incident.” That said, the scars from the hate crime remind him of the incident every day. “I see them in the mirror or when I take selfies and snaps,” he explains. “They will be with me or the rest of my life.” Seran added that he’s begun counseling to help him process the emotional scars. He says he’s sharing his story to encourage other LGBTQ people from Muslim backgrounds to “get help if you want to come out as gay.” “We are living in 2019 and my dad wanted me dead because I’m attracted to men. I just cannot accept that. I hid long enough, this is the end of that now.” According to the UK’s Daily Star, the father was arrested for the attack but it’s unclear when he will stand trial. Switzerland has wrestled with the issue of homophobia for years. A 2016 study found that gay men in Geneva are four times more likely to suffer attacks than men in the general population. ILGA, a human rights organization, ranks Switzerland 27th out of 49 countries in Europe on LGBTQ+ equality. (source: Google Translate/20 Minuten)

Posted on

Podcast: Shot & Paralyzed Outside Gay Nightclub, Discrimination Costs Jamaica Billions, Sebastian LaCause

The Randy Report podcast

The Randy Report podcast delivers the week's top stories in a quick, convenient podcast - 'the 60 Minutes of gay news - only shorter' In this week’s podcast: • A young man standing outside a gay nightclub in North Carolina was shot leaving him paralyzed, and people all over the world come together to help with his recovery. Crowdfunding link: www.gofundme.com/f/hope-for-pedro • A new report shows LGBTQ discrimination costs Jamaica over $11 billion a year • A lawmaker won her bid to become the first female and first LGBTQ mayor of Bogota in Colombia, considered the second most important office in the country after the president • On the 5th anniversary of his public coming out, Apple CEO Tim Cook has no regrets • Award-winning writer/director Sebastian LaCause has a new indie film project – ‘Holy Water.’ Video pitch link: kck.st/35n6y2s Hustling trailer link: youtu.be/MWhbQ3nBDjU All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

Posted on

News Round-Up: October 21, 2019

Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunk: Fitness trainer Ramses Principe (above) heading into the week like a boss. Make sure to follow him on Instagram here for more Monday motivation. • Irish Times: A man in Dublin, Ireland, thought he was meeting a Grindr date but was instead ambushed by a group of teenage boys with weapons. The victim, who needed medical treatment after the attack, says at least four teens armed with hammers came after him shouting anti-gay slurs including ‘faggot.’ • ABC News: Former Defense Secretary James Mattis trolled Donald Trump over the weekend at an event after Trump declared Mattis to be “the world’s most over-rated general.” Mattis clapped back saying, among other things, “I earned my spurs on the battlefield … Donald Trump earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor.” The ‘spurs’ comment was a reference to Trump’s many deferments from the Vietnam war.

• NY Times: Northern Ireland will soon have marriage equality to celebrate due to an amendment to a routine bill on governance that Parliament passed in July after the region’s governing assembly collapsed nearly three years ago. The amendment goes into effect tonight at midnight. Beginning January 13, 2020, same-sex couples will be able to give 28 days’ notice before marrying. • The Independent: In Elton John’s first memoir, Me, the popstar has some choice words about now-deceased Michael Jackson: “Every time I saw him in his later years I came away thinking the poor guy had totally lost his marbles. I don’t mean that in the light-hearted way. He was genuinely mentally ill, a disturbing person to be around. It was incredibly sad, but he was someone you couldn’t help: he was just gone, off in a world of his own, surrounded by people who only told him what he wanted to hear.” • Politico: Donald Trump reportedly stunned military leaders by demanding his ‘Victory Day’ parade at his very first Pentagon meeting. • Instinct Magazine: I am not mad at the hot daddy ASL interpreter who turned it out at Todrick Hall’s Haus Party World Tour this past weekend. #GetItDaddy

Posted on

News Round-Up: October 16, 2019

Jim Newman (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Jim Newman (above) throws back to when he was touring with the legendary Village People as ‘the Cowboy’ (until a lawsuit had to go ruin it all…). • Gay City News: A gay man in Jackson Heights was returning home early in the morning on October 13 when he said a stranger exposed himself, punched him, stole his belongings, and dragged him on the ground — all because he wouldn’t perform oral sex on him. • The Advocate: Brianna Hill of Kansas City, Missouri, who was shot to death on Monday morning, is the 20th transgender woman of color to be murdered this year. • New York Times: The newspaper of note recaps the winners and losers of last night’s Democratic debate. Everyone pretty much felt Mayor Pete Buttigieg had a very good night. Here’s just a sample:

• Politico: A former top adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told House impeachment investigators on Wednesday that he abruptly resigned last week because of President Donald Trump’s attacks on the ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and the State Department’s unwillingness to protect career diplomats from political pressure, according to two people familiar with the testimony. • People: Arrow star Colton Haynes, 31, and celebrity florist Jeff Leatham, 48, have quietly settled their divorce. In addition to waiving their rights to spousal support and the division of property, the exes have agreed to a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement. In other words, no ‘tell-all’ memoirs. • The WOW Report: Former The Apprentice staffer Noel Casler shares (among other things), “He’s a speed freak. He crushes up his Adderall and he sniffs it because he can’t read and he gets really nervous when he has to read cue cards. I’m not kidding. This is true.”

Posted on

Podcast: Suicide In Tennessee, Swimmer Booted For Being Gay, Music Video Highlights Domestic Violence

In this week’s headlines: • A Tennessee teen commits suicide after being outed by fellow students (If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255) • The Trump administration tried to wipe out Pride crosswalks • A suspect has been arrested in brutal crime where a gay man was tied to a minivan and dragged through the streets of Jacksonville • Collegiate swimmer says he was kicked off Stanford’s swim team for being openly gay • Tom Goss’s new music video ‘La Bufadora,’ dives into domestic violence among LGBTQ couples All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report. Reminder – if you enjoy catching up on LGBTQ news in a quick podcast, I’d appreciate if you would share The Randy Report with your friends 🙂

Posted on

Gay Man Attacked & Dragged Tied To Minivan For Blocks

According to News4Jax in Jacksonville, Florida, police have arrested a suspect in a brutal crime where a person was severely beaten then tied to the bumper of a minivan and dragged for over two blocks last Friday. Police say the victim was left unconscious in the street after the rope tying him to the car was cut. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. The victim, according to doctors, has not regained consciousness since the attack due to immense swelling in the brain. There is surveillance video of the incident, but police say it is “horrendous” and can’t be released due to the graphic nature of the attack and injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says 34-year-old Eric Bridges, an ex-convict, has been charged with attempted murder. He remains in jail while being held on $500,000 bail. The victim, initially reported as possibly transgender, is now being identified as a gay male. The name of the victim has been withheld by the family. No details as to what spurred the incident have been revealed as yet.

Posted on

Indiana Teen Beaten In High School Locker Room

Video footage of a high school student in Alexandria, Indiana, being attacked and beaten in the boy’s locker room was widely circulated among students and even sent to the boy’s mother. The reason for the attack? Being gay. Speaking to local NBC affiliate WTHR the young man said, “I’m not ok, but I will be.” The assault took place following gym class after he’d gotten dressed “The guy who attacked me was standing next to my locker and wouldn’t stop staring at me, so I had a weird feeling that something was about to happen,” the student told WTHR. What ‘happened’ was the student began shoving the teen. “He kept pushing me, but then he stopped pushing me and everything got quiet, so I thought he walked out,” said the young man. But the attacker didn’t leave, he’d merely paused before he began punching his victim. “I felt him punch me a couple more times and I got hit my face on the mirror and then he punched me in the head twice,” said the student. “It happened so fast. I can remember them holding me against the wall,” he added, explaining that two other students helped restrain him so he couldn’t fight back. The boy says he knows who his alleged attackers are and that they’d teased him before about being openly gay. “I’ve gotten so used to it over the years that it doesn’t phase me much,” he said. Eventually, another student stepped in and stopped the assault. When the teen’s mother took him to the hospital he was told his nose was broken. “I just tell myself to forget what happened and try to act like it never happened,” he said. School officials and Alexandria police both say they are investigating the incident. The alleged victim calls what happened a hate crime and has a message for others students targeted because of their sexuality. His parents say they’re not going to let what happened to their son get swept under a rug. They’ve been told by school officials that two of the students involved have been expelled, but WTHR was unable to confirm that. (source: WTHR)