Possible South End hate crime investigated by Boston police

By John R. Ellement, Globe staff

Boston Police today confirmed that a possible hate crime took place early Sunday morning in the South End when three gay men and a female acquaintance were attacked by four men who shouted antigay epithets at the victims as they punched and kicked them.

In a telephone interview today, two of the victims provided the Globe with their full names, but asked that only their first names be used because their attackers remain at large. They said the four had been at the Roxy nightclub and were walking home on Columbus Avenue around 2:45 a.m. Aug. 25 when they walked past a white car parked on the opposite side of the street.

“They started yelling out slurs directed to my friends, calling them ‘faggot’ and ‘better not look over here (expletive) faggots’ ‘’ said Jenna, a 23-year-old Jamaica Plain resident. The four men got out of the car and started walking toward her friends. She said she stepped in between, hoping to defuse the situation, and was stunned when one of the men promptly punched her in the face.

“He punched me directly in the face as hard as he could,'' Jenna said.

She said she started to fall to the ground, but was grabbed by one of her friends, named Scott, who laid her on the ground. Seconds later, the men attacked Scott and a second man, named John, Jenna said. John was punched, knocked unconscious and was lying on the street being kicked and punched by the men, who continued to shout the antigay slur, Jenna said.

The assailants broke off the attack, and climbed into their white car after once again threatening Jenna, who was frantically trying to provide police with information about the attackers before they fled.

Scott was not at the scene and it wasn’t until a few minutes later that the friends learned he had run, bleeding form a severe scalp wound, to his South End home. Scott and John were treated at Boston hospitals and released after several hours.

Jeff, the fourth person at the scene, said he was walking slightly ahead of his friends when the attack began. He was not harmed. “It wasn’t a fair fight at all, he said. “None of us are big, muscly guys or into karate or something like that.’’

Elaine Driscoll, a police spokeswoman, said the Community Disorders Unit is investigating the possible hate crime, but said no arrests have been made.

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,” said the executive director, Marc Solomon, 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.”

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