Two Pittsburgh men were beaten by a group of men outside a gay bar in the city's Lawrenceville neighborhood Sunday morning.
The attack happened around 2:30 a.m. near the well-known bar Remedy on Butler Street. Ben Stoviak, who was attacked along with his friend Aaron, says three men began yelling antigay slurs at them after they left the bar. One of them men eventually punched Stoviak, kicking him in the face as he hit the ground.
“We’re not ashamed of ourselves — and that’s when they ran after us and one of them threw a punch at me, got me on the ground and they started kicking, punching, weren’t stopping, stomping — I have a boot mark on my face,” Stoviak told TV station KDKA.
Three suspects fled the scene in a black Hyundai. An additional person witnessed the attack and was able to take down the license plate number from the suspects’ vehicle."
Stoviak believes he and his boyfriend were attacked because they were showing affection toward each other outside the bar, and says the assault was a hate crime. Police are investigating the incident, and have identified one suspect. However, their name has not been released, and they have only been charged with simple assault and will receive a summons in the mail. No arrests have been made at this time.
Watch KDKA's report below.
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