Early Sunday morning three college-aged men assaulted a 29-year-old Austin resident at West 25th and Rio Grande streets, an Austin Police Department spokesman said.
Detective James Mason said a police report was filed at 3:31 a.m. and that the victim would likely press charges once police identify the suspects.
The victim, who did not want his name printed for security reasons, said he was riding his bike in the area and came across three apparently drunk males who were shouting at him. When he stopped to ask the group what they had said, they responded, "Don't worry about it, faggot, go on."
After this exchange, he said that he reached for his cell phone and started to ride on but then heard steps coming toward him. The three pushed him off his bike and continued to kick and punch him for more than a minute, while they called him a "faggot."
"Before I could do anything they knocked me off my bike and beat the shit out of me," he said.
He said a nearby security guard shouted at the group, causing them to flee. The victim did not know the name of the guard but said she called police for him. He said another security guard told him that cameras were pointing to the area and could possibly be used to get a description of the aggressors.
The victim said he did not know if the three knew he was a homosexual but feels this could be a hate crime.
"As they were leaving, I was screaming 'Why? What did I do?' I didn't know what was going on," he said. "The way that they did that they obviously don't care about people, and I'm just scared that they will look me up and find me."
The victim said he was taken to St. David's South Austin Hospital and was discharged five hours later. He said he suffered deep bruising in the neck and shoulder, a black eye and other injuries.
"I got a hold of my doctor today, and she wants me to get a CAT scan done because I can feel lumps on my spine," he said. "I've got an imprint of someone's shoe on my shoulder. You can see the tread of the shoe."
Mason said the charge would most likely be assault with injury, a Class A misdemeanor, but the district attorney prosecuting the case could raise the charge if the injuries merit it. He said police will assign a detective today.
"It's ultimately up to the victim," Mason said. "He has to be able to identify his assaulters, unless we have a really good surveillance video that can clearly identify somebody."
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