Police seeking four suspects in possible hate crime attack

Four friends were ambling home from a night out at a South End nightclub when they suddenly found themselves under attack by a group of men who beat them and hurled homophobic slurs at them, according to the victims and Boston police.

"They started yelling out slurs directed to my friends, calling them 'faggot' and 'better not look over here [expletive] faggots,' " Jenna, a 23-year-old Jamaica Plain resident, said yesterday as she described the Aug. 25 attack.

Jenna said she stepped in front of one of the men, hoping to defuse the situation, and was stunned when he attacked her. "He punched me directly in the face as hard as he could," she said.

Within seconds, Jenna said, she was knocked to the ground; one of her friends was unconscious and being kicked and beaten about the head; a third had fled, bleeding profusely from a scalp wound; and a fourth was frantically calling police on his cellphone.

"It wasn't a fair fight at all," said Jeff, the man who was trying to summon help on his cellphone. "None of us are big, muscley guys or into karate or something like that."

Jeff and Jenna provided the Globe with their full names but asked that they not be published because their assailants remain at large. They said their two friends were treated at a Boston hospital following the attack, but cannot recall any details of what happened when the four men jumped out of a parked white car and suddenly set upon them.

Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for Boston police, said the case has been assigned to the Community Disorders Unit, the group of detectives who investigate hate crimes.

Police did not notify the public about the attack on the department's blog because detectives needed first to track down leads provided by the victims, Driscoll said.

"We don't post every single incident on the blog," Driscoll said. "Detectives were chasing down certain evidence, certain details. . . . We put out as many incidents as possible."

Jeff and Jenna contacted Boston media outlets yesterday - including Bay Windows, which apparently was the first to report on it - to warn the public about the attack. Jenna said she went to the media because she believes it is matter of safety for everyone who lives in the South End, regardless of their sexual identity.

"People need to know this can happen to anybody," said Jenna. "We weren't in a bad neighborhood. We weren't being drunk and obnoxious. We were walking on the street, minding our own business, and we were brutally attacked by random people."

Hate crimes targeting gays and lesbians have been increasing in the city since 2003, when 25 cases were reported citywide, according to department statistics provided by Driscoll.

Last year, the number of reported acts of harassment and verbal or physical assaults rose to 56. The Columbus Avenue attack is the 28th this year, police said.

In a statement, MassEquality, an advocacy and lobbying group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights, denounced the violence.

"This is a horrible situation, and our thoughts go out to the victims of this brutal hate crime," Marc Solomon, executive director, said in a statement. "This sad incident shows us that homophobia is alive and well, even in places that are normally viewed as 'gay friendly,' such as the South End. . . . No one should have to walk down the street fearing they'll be attacked just for being who they are."

Kelcie Cooke, coordinator of the Victim Recovery Program at Fenway Community Health Center, said the program was aware of the attack, but was not notified about it by police.

However, she added, "we do work in an ongoing way. We may not be in touch right after an incident, but we do keep each other informed."