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Over the past month there have been at least 5 attacks on gay men in the Baltimore/Washington area. This has Gays in both cities on edge. Both communities say they are scared and hoping for better.
| Tony Randolph Hunter, a resident of Clinton, Md., died Sept. 17, 10 days after he was attacked and beaten by four unidentified males at 8th and N Streets, N.W., Hunter, 37, and a friend were headed to the Be Bar, a gay bar less than two blocks away. |
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Police say they are close to catching the assailants of this attack.
According to the Washington Blade, Alexander Padro, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner said two people familiar with the investigation told him police were in the process of obtaining a warrant for the arrest of one suspect that was identified by an informant.
Padro said he was told that the suspect confessed to killing Hunter, but the suspect insisted he acted in self-defense after Hunter made advances toward him.
"I'm very concerned that this guy is trying to use the gay-panic defense," Padro said. "It's ridiculous, and I hope the police don't fall for that kind of nonsense."
When questioned about the situation, police spokesperson Tracy Hughes issued a brief statement and declined further comment.
"No warrant has been issued," she said. "However, there is a person of interest in the case. Detectives are continuing to follow up on several leads."
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Over the past month there have been at least 5 attacks on gay men in the Baltimore/Washington area. This has Gays in both cities on edge. Both communities say they are scared and hoping for better.
| Tony Randolph Hunter, a resident of Clinton, Md., died Sept. 17, 10 days after he was attacked and beaten by four unidentified males at 8th and N Streets, N.W., Hunter, 37, and a friend were headed to the Be Bar, a gay bar less than two blocks away. |
|
Police say they are close to catching the assailants of this attack.
According to the Washington Blade, Alexander Padro, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner said two people familiar with the investigation told him police were in the process of obtaining a warrant for the arrest of one suspect that was identified by an informant.
Padro said he was told that the suspect confessed to killing Hunter, but the suspect insisted he acted in self-defense after Hunter made advances toward him.
"I'm very concerned that this guy is trying to use the gay-panic defense," Padro said. "It's ridiculous, and I hope the police don't fall for that kind of nonsense."
When questioned about the situation, police spokesperson Tracy Hughes issued a brief statement and declined further comment.
"No warrant has been issued," she said. "However, there is a person of interest in the case. Detectives are continuing to follow up on several leads."
In Baltimore a gay couple were holding hands and walking on the street when a man on a bicycle approached one of the two men and engaged him in conversation, according to Officer Troy Harris. The second man walked ahead several feet and heard what sounded like two gunshots and saw his companion Glenn Footman, 50, was injured.
The man with the bike fled on foot, then returned for his bicycle and left the scene. Police say Footman is in critical but stable condition at a local hospital. The victim was not able to give police information on what the suspect might have said.
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Harris said that Footman and his partner are from Texas and are new to the area.
Eric Robinson and Doug Gatewood said they live near the shooting location.
Robinson said he's been attacked four times by people that he believes hates gays.
"People shouldn't be so scared of love. That's basically all it is. It's people loving people," Gatewood said.
According the back story HRC page, DC police announced last week that they have made an arrest in the brutal July attack of a gay man in the Adams Morgan nightclub district:
| D.C. police announced Monday that they arrested a teenage male suspect in connection with a July 13 incident in Adams Morgan in which five male attackers assaulted three gay men while shouting anti-gay names. Police listed the incident as a hate crime. In a statement released 8:30 p.m. Monday, police said the identity of the suspect and information related to his prosecution was being withheld because he is a juvenile. The statement says police arrested the suspect on Sept. 25 and charged him with aggravated assault. In last weeks statement, police said they have no further information about the case, including whether investigators expect to make additional arrests of the others who participated in the attack. |
The 2005 FBI Uniform Crime Report states that the sexual orientation hate crimes jumped to 14.2 percent -- their highest level in 12 years. The report showed that 60.9 percent of gay men were victims of hate crimes and 14.5 percent of gay women were victims.
The FBI reported that 48.9 percent of the offenses involved intimidation, 30.2 percent resulted in simple assault and 20.5 percent resulted in aggravated assault. Local statistics were not available.
| Although the number of reported hate crimes against gays has fluctuated nationally in recent years, it has risen in D.C. The most recent FBI data also shows such numbers fluctuating in Maryland and Virginia.
In 2006, law enforcement agencies reported 1,415 hate crime offenses based on sexual orientation bias. 62.3 percent were anti-male homosexual Of the 1,415 offenses, 36 were reported by D.C. police, 13 were reported by Maryland police, and 37 were reported by Virginia police. In 2005, law enforcement agencies reported 1,171 hate crime offenses based on sexual orientation bias. 60.9 percent were anti-male homosexual Of the 1,171 offenses, 30 were reported by D.C. police, 11 were reported by Maryland police, and 44 were reported by Virginia police. In 2004, law enforcement agencies reported 1,406 hate crime offenses 60.8 percent were anti-male homosexual Of the 1,406 offenses, 29 were reported by D.C. police, 19 were reported by Maryland police, and 38 were reported by Virginia police. Additional statistics are available online at:
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| Commentary:
I knew Tony and I can say he was a friend. I know that he is in a better place now without pain. RIP Here we are in 2008 and people are still not able to even tolerate homosexuality. This is scary to me. Since I was born and raised in this area I frequent a lot of the same areas the victims do. Should we be scared because of the rising hate crimes against gays and lesbians in the area? Or is this coincidence? |