Hate Crime

This Miami gay man kissed his date goodnight. Then the pair got shot.

Clive Khouri

Miami police are searching for several suspects accused of shooting a pair of gay men while the pair kissed in a car. The victim says they were targeted for being gay.

Clive Khouri told ABC News that he and his date kissed in his car on Tuesday night when several men drove by on ATV vehicles. The trio then opened fire on the gay couple, hitting both men as well as a passer-by. The woman who happened on the scene, a neighbor named Shankeka Jefferson, also happens to be queer.

Related: Gay rapper among those shot and wounded in drive-by Florida shooting

“When I tried to speed off to come around this corner, they kept trying to shoot, shoot, shoot,” Khouri said. “Some of the guys probably saw us kissing in the car.” Khouri also added that he believes he and his friend were targets of a hate crime.

As the three men sped off on their ATVs, Khouri rushed into his mother’s nearby house for help. The bullets just grazed his head, and despite the bloody wounds, he was not seriously injured. Jefferson, likewise, sustained flesh wounds to the head from grazed bullets. She has since returned home after hospital treatment. Khouri’s date, on the other hand, was struck in the head and remains in critical condition.

Miami police continue to hunt for the shooters. Police say there could be up to three suspects involved in the attack.

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