The victim tried to calm a group that was spewing homophobic slurs at him and his friends.
A gay man suffered a broken jaw at the hands of attackers in Brooklyn in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime.
The victim, 27, was ordering food with friends at a fast-food restaurant in Bedford-Stuyvesant when they were approached by a group making anti-gay comments. When he tried to de-escalate the situation, one attacker punched him in the face.
The assailant was captured on security cameras.
The victim was taken to Brooklyn Hospital and will likely have to undergo surgery on his face.
While New York is known as a haven for LGBT people, the city is not immune from homophobic assaults: In fact, attacks on gay men are the most common form of hate crimes in the city, outpacing even those against the trans community.
In July, a gay man was beaten so badly outside a Hell’s Kitchen gay bar that his leg was broken in two places.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating Saturday’s attack.
