Two men and a teenage boy have been charged with a hate crime for a Saturday attack on a 22 year old gay man who was dressed as a woman in Brooklyn, New York City which included shooting the victim when a dispute erupted over homophobic slurs, according to police.
Tavon Johnson, 17, and Cody Sigue, 22 were charged with third degree menacing as a hate crime. Matthew Smith, 21, was charged with first degree assault. According to NBC New York, Smith was also charged separately for a different shooting on Friday.
The New York Daily News earlier reported that the victim was walking with at least one male friend on Broadway near Putnam Avenue in Bushwick, and NBC New York confirms that three men approached the victim and proceeded to taunt him with anti-gay slurs and comments. After a dispute over the taunts, WABC-TV reported the victim and his friend ran from the attackers and one of the attackers, who according to the charges is Smith, shot the victim in the buttocks.
Multiple reports indicate the suspects didn’t get very far when they tried to run from the scene. Apparently, police caught up with them rather quickly. Police records show that the three suspects have criminal records. The New York Daily News reported that Johnson, only 17, has one prior arrest for each of his years alive, including charges of robbery, burglary, assault and conspiracy.
It never ends, does it?
Image via AP Images.
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