Editor’s Note: Corrected on September 7, 6:42 p.m. While Olivares helped to organize the event, he is not its sole organizer.
Organized with help from Samy Nemir-Olivares, district leader for AD 53 and an LGBTQ+ activist, the rally will begin at the site of the crime near the Halsey J starting at 4 p.m.
Absolutely horrified by this homophobic hate crime in my neighborhood, Bushwick. Spoke w/ one of the victims that survived this almost deadly attacked -of 5 stabbings inc his lung- and they want to create awareness.
— Samy Nemir-Olivares (@Samynemir) September 5, 2021
Rally on Wed PM. More details to come. https://t.co/XEmfYtJrQN
According to police, two unknown men approached the two male victims, aged 38 and 26, while they were purchasing food at 2:10 a.m. A verbal dispute ensued and “anti-gay statements” were made.
The confrontation ended in violence when the perpetrators attacked the two victims with a glass bottle and screwdriver. The 36-year-old victim suffered “a puncture wound to his chin and a cut on his lips. His 28-year-old friend was cut on his right hand and shoulder,” as reported by DailyMail. They are both in stable condition.
The attackers then fled in an unknown direction with one victim’s iPhone and cash.
EMS rushed the 36-year-old man to Woodhull Hospital and paramedics brought the 28-year-old man to Kings County Hospital, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The 83rd Precinct was notified of the incident and police have since released a surveillance image of the perpetrators this past Sunday morning. They are asking the public to help identify them.
According to a series of tweets by Nemir-Olivares, who spoke with the victim, the bodega staff refused to call police or an ambulance: the 36-year-old victim, who had also been punctured in the lung, had to leave the premises to hail an ambulance.
“Also, one of the victims…was a straight man,” Nemir-Olivares wrote in the same thread. The fact that these two victims were mistaken as a couple, he says, shows that when it comes to laws and policies, it’s important to include “perceived sexual orientation and gender identity” because everyone is impacted.
Top Image from Google Maps.
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