Rene Chalarca and his boyfriend Dimitri Lugonov were walking out of the restroom in Lumus Park at around 7:45 pm on Sunday when four men approached and violently attacked them.
“They start to hit us, like beating us, hard,” Charlarca tells his local news station.
“It was, like, instant. I got hit, and they knocked me out,” adds Logunov. “I was on the ground, they started beating me up.”
To add insult to injury, one of them shouted a homophobic slur in Spanish.
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When the couple tried to flee, the gang of men chased after them. CCTV caught the horrifying attack on video.
Police are considering the attack felony battery for now but say they are investigating it as a possible hate crime.
“For me, the way we were dressed and everything and we were together, it was like, ‘Yes, it was a hate crime,’” Chalarca says. “We probably provoked them because we were walking together, holding hands. It was gay pride, South Beach was full of gay people.”
Helmut Muller Estrada, who witnessed the assault, tells the Miami Herald that he tried to stop the attack, but one of the assailants knocked him out, smacking his head on the concrete. The fall left Muller with a gash across the back of his head that required four stitches.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight,” Estrada says, “we all should respect each other.”
So far, no arrests have been made.
Related: 19-year-old Mr. Gay Belgium attacked in violent hate crime
Smith David
I’m gonna signup for a self defense class. Issh…like this leaves me so angry and itching for somebody to try me. I do not promote violence of any kind. However, these f**kers seem to think that all gay men are weak and we need to start f**ing them up so that they start second guessing this type of aggressive behavior towards us.
Amalgamate
it was 4 on 2 and they were sucker punched-no self defense is gonna help you in that situation
Troyfight
^THANK YOU SMITH DAVID. COULDN’T AGREE MORE. Even if it was 4 against 2, some self-defense moves and being more tuned in to being aware can only help protect yourself.
gaym50ish
I have a taser and am going to start carrying it.
Paco
Knees to the balls. Then kick, stomp and kick.
JerseyMike
Mace a B!tch… carry it!!! get self-defense attachments for your keychain…
Kieran
Bullies always attack those they perceive as weak.
chris33133
Did any commentators on here actually look at the video of the attack? It was four against two (hardly fair odds), with a third (good Samaritan) joining to try to help. ….. And let’s not miss the larger point. If something like this can happen right after a Pride parade in Miami Beach, it bodes ill for many of us who say we’re safe in this nation’s urban areas. There still lots more to be done.
JerseyMike
There is no such thing as a fair fight… 4, 5 or 10… I am going to fight back with everything in me. No, you are not going to won all the time even if it was one person but you better fight back.
ChrisK
Apparently there was a lot of people just walking by the incident. Thank God for the Good Samaritan. I would hope that I would act the same.
ChrisK
That Good Samaritan are the people that queerty needs to promote. These are the role models.