D.C. police arrested a teenage boy in the brutal beating of a man last month that’s being investigated as a hate crime.
The husband of a victim – a 22-year-old model who moved to D.C. from Colombia last year – told News4 the victim had stopped at the McDonald’s at the busy corner of U Street and 14th Street in Northwest on the way home from a bar before 2 a.m. Oct. 27. He decided to leave because of the long line.
He was then beaten by a group of males and females for not saying “excuse me,” according to the police report. One of the attackers allegedly yelled an anti-gay slur.
“The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating this offense as potentially being motivated by hate or bias,” a police spokesman said. “The designation can be changed at any point as an investigation proceeds and more information is gathered. A designation as a hate crime by MPD does not mean that prosecutors will prosecute it as a hate crime.”
The victim was able to call 911 and FaceTime his partner. The victim's husband said that video shows about two seconds of drinks and trash being thrown on the victim as he slumped to the ground in pain.
The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but his partner told News4 he worries about lasting mental trauma.
Multiple attackers were caught on surveillance cameras in the area, police said.
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On Tuesday, police arrested a 16-year-old boy from Northwest D.C. and charged him with assault with significant bodily injury.
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