A suspect was arrested after wielding an unknown object and slashing a man in the face on July 6 while hurling anti-gay statements, according to the NYPD.
Police said a 34-year-old male victim, who has not been named, was cut on his left cheek following an argument with 55-year-old Ramon Castro around 3:10 a.m. outside a building at 37-55 77th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens. According to the NYPD, the suspect allegedly made anti-LGBTQ remarks to the victim during the attack and then fled the scene.
The victim was transported to a nearby hospital and is in stable condition.
Castro was arrested and charged in connection with the case. He was charged with three Hate Crime charges — assault, menacing, and aggravated harassment.
This incident is one of several violent anti-LGBTQ attacks to occur in recent weeks. On July 1, a man was stabbed and allegedly called a “f****t” by an unidentified suspect on the subway. During Pride Month, a transgender woman was stabbed by a man wielding a screwdriver, and a transgender man and his wife were slashed on the subway after a perpetrator allegedly hurled anti-LGBTQ slurs at the couple. In May, a transgender woman was brutally attacked by her Grindr date in the Bronx, leaving her with cuts and bruises on her body.
As anti-LGBTQ attacks appear to continue New York City, the NYPD has announced plans to hire additional LGBTQ police staff in the Hate Crime Task Force and the Community Affairs LGBTQIA Outreach Unit.
