It's A Scary Month in the Gayborhood: Three Homosexuals Attacked in WeHo
Three separate beatings of homosexuals recently occurred in West Hollywood. The LGBT community is alarmed by the series of attacks, which took place within four days of each other. However, Mayor John Duran does not appear to be convinced that the attacks are actually targeting gays.
Billy Mandrick was brutally attacked and robbed near Santa Monica Boulevard on the night of October 18 after leaving Motherlode. His attacker approached him and politely inquired, "Hey faggot, what are you doing out here so late?" reports WeHo Confidential. The man followed Mandrick, who ignored his gay-hating assailant, repeatedly calling him a "fucking faggot." Mandrick apologized for offending the man, who proceeded to punch and kick Mandrick several times. The attacker fled the scene with the victim's cell phone and wallet.
A second incident occurred on the evening of October 19. Kasey Mahaffy was brutally assaulted and gay bashed on Fountain near Laurel. Mahaffy was walking in his neighborhood when a hooded man approached him and punched him in the throat thrice. He continued to beat the victim, and, according to Mahaffy, punched him about thirteen times. Before the man attacked Mahaffy, he screamed something unintelligible. Mahaffy recalls his thoughts as he suffered the blows to WeHo Confidential. "I couldn't defend myself. During the assault I kept thinking to myself all these ironic thoughts like, "Oh my god. I can't believe this is happening. I'm a fucking HATE CRIME VICTIM?! No fucking way. Not my story."
The third assault took place on the evening of October 22 and involved a weapon. Micky's employee Kyan Loredo was walking on Fairfax between Fountain and Sunset when he heard a voice behind him say, "Don’t turn around," according to WeHo Confidential. Loredo assumed a friend was playing a mean joke on him, but when he turned around, he was struck over the head by the barrel of a gun. The suspect stole Loredo's cell phone and money before fleeing.
WeHo Confidential wrote that a Channel 4 reporter briefly interview Duran, who said, "This is what happens when people try to do investigations through social media. You know somebody, who knows somebody. Before you know it there are a rash of gay beatings going on, it's not true."
Duran told Rob Schmitt, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, that prior to the recent beatings, hate crimes in the area were actually on the decline.
