Authorities say two men in Washington D.C. used homophobic slurs and referred to 'monkeypox' as possible hate crime was attacked by an alleged perpetrator.
According to his ABC article, which cited an incident report, the suspect called the couple "monkeypox f-–s" and beat them several times.
Police said the victim was taken to a nearby hospital.
Police said on Tuesday they were "investigating the crime as possibly motivated by hate and bigotry."
One of the victimstold NBC Washington that she did not immediately know what had happened.
"One of them came to me and punched me in the chin, where she needed three stitches," said Antonio, who requested anonymity. rice field.
"I started noticing that it was covered in blood. I didn't realize how bad my lips were until other people saw them. I thought they were cuts on my face," said the victim. added to the outlet.
I was just like, 'What kind of ignorance is this?'" Antonio recalls, but he was "not shocked" by the apparent motive for the assault, he told the outlet.
"I think it's been building up over the last few months and years of talking about LGBTQ people," he explained. "It could happen here."
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement posted on Twitter,that the potential hate crime was "extremely upsetting." There are,” he said.
"We want to send aid to the victims," Bowser said Tuesday. “Whenever a hate crime occurs in our city, it is our responsibility to understand the role each of us plays in building a safer community for all who live and visit DC. It is a joint responsibility.”
The LGBT Liaison Unit of the city's police department is "part" of the investigation, according to the mayor.
