A gay man living in San Diego has appealed to the public for help with medical expenses and in identifying his assailant after a brutal attack left him hospitalized.
Jack Castillo, 31, was born in the United Kingdom but has long since taken up residence in San Diego. Following a drag show in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood on Saturday night, an unknown man approached him on the street. The assailant put a gun to Castillo’s head and demanded the fanny pack he was wearing. Castillo refused, at which point the assailant shot him in the leg. The attacker then took the fanny pack–which also housed Castillo’s green card, house keys and passport–and fled into the night.
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“I was on my phone, turn around and he had a gun to my head. I thought it was a taser, I thought, it was a joke. Then he shot me in the knee,” Castillo told ABC 10 News.
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“I remember seeing blood and then I started screaming,” he added. “I had so much adrenaline going on in my body. I don’t remember feeling pain, I just remember feeling fear.”
The attack left Castillo hospitalized with extensive damage to his kneecap. His recovery will require at least eight weeks, and Castillo does not have health insurance. He has since set up a GoFundMe page to help cover his medical bills.
“My name is Jack, I am a queer immigrant from the UK, living and working in San Diego,” Castillo wrote on the page. “I have been working two jobs every day for weeks to try and make ends meet. I am scared I won’t be able to pay my rent or bills. If you know me you know I am never someone to ask for help, but I don’t have another option right now.”
Since launching the GoFundMe, Castillo has undergone surgery on his leg. At the time of this writing, Castillo has raised over $25,000 of a $35,000 goal.
San Diego police, in the meantime, have opened an investigation into the attack. They are currently seeking a suspect described as white, 5-foot-10, with a medium build.
hotdogla
Worrying about making rent while recovery feels like the air has been sucked out, I hope he recovers, Im unable to give much but I’ll pitch is there a link?
Kangol2
Such a horrible story, but I’m glad he wasn’t killed and is recuperating, and I also hope they catch the robber. I also hope he raises the funds for his hospital bills. (We need universal single-payer health insurance….)
You can donate money here (close all the links0:
https : // uk.gofundme. com/ f/ please-help-jackee-recover-from-shooting
Tombear
Hey, what’s $50. Jackee get better soon!
Max
a white assailant with a gun. this is really off the rails now.
DarkZephyr
Wow, someone anonymous donated a whole grand to him and The Rail donated $500. I noticed other people donating $100 and such. Awesome.
Vince
I love America! Where else do you get to beg for money for your healthcare.
kevkev
Truly is the land of the free, free to shoot people, free to beg!
sjchan
Poor guy. I’ll be in San Diego in September and hat to have to constantly watch my back on vacation.
Manrico Jimenez
If this trend of homophobic attacks continue to get worse I think it’s about time our community should start thinking about arming ourselves in self-defense with at least pepper spray, similar to young women.
Consider This
The time to arm yourself is NOW.
Invader7
Pepper spray ? Arm yourself with GUNS. Cause hot lead is way more powerful . Besides you have to be up close and personal with pepper spray to hurt the criminal(s). Where as you can be feet away with a gun..
winemaker
And the real outrage, the liberals aka progressives or whatever these worthless ‘do nothing for the voters other than keep jacking up the taxes, flip them the finger behind their backs or give lip service and laugh all the way to the bank. They advocate ‘gun control’ and anyone with half a brain knows this is an outright ban on all guns calling them ‘assault weapons’ Virtually anything can be used as an assault weapon. This so called ‘gun ban’ is a Load of pure liberal progressive BULLSHIT.! You can be sure the liberal politicians carry their own guns for protection or have armed security guards yet they want to deny law abiding citizens the right to have and use gun for protection . Remember this the next election and any politician who wants to so ‘called ‘ban guns or have total gun control’ needs to go, period . Remember the 2nd Amendment, something the slugs running California ((running it into the ground) seem to forget. Criminals will always have guns or have access to guns. if the bastard who did this to this British guy did this to me, they’d be sending him home in a box, period. Just why the gay community keeps supporting these worthless liberal ‘do nothing for the residents or to improve things here slugs’, boggles the imagination. If you need a definition of ultra liberalism, or progressivism, a look and smell at San Francisco is in order.
Invader7
Got your property tax bill did you??? Talk about bitter!!! Did the GOP pay you to troll this site?
Consider This
I would never EVER think someone pointing a gun at me was a “joke”.