A 15-year-old boy was brutally battered in a suspected ‘homophobic’ hate crime in Britain. (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
A 15-year-old boy was battered by a gang of hooded teens outside a McDonald’s outlet last Saturday night in what law enforcement are treating as a “homophobic” hate crime.
At the fast-food restaurant in Liverpool, England, the teens thronged the street where the victim and his pals were standing.
After the attack, the boy was rushed to the hospital and treated for his injuries, the Liverpool Echo reported.
What happened?
On the premises of a McDonald’s along Huyton Hey Road in the Huyton Village neighbourhood, the boy was assailed by a group of teens slightly older than he is, police say.
At around 9pm, the teens launched an attack which saw a bottle of soft drink hurled at the boy, striking him in the head.
Witnesses explained that security staff stationed at a local supermarket stepped in to stop the outbreak from escalating further.
Investigators are coming surveillance footage in a drive to identify the attackers, while the boy’s loved ones are said to be “in bits”, with the child “in a bad way”.
While no witnesses noted anti-gay slurs being said, detectives declared they are treating the attack as a homophobic hate crime.
Police appeal for witnesses after ‘homophobic’ hate crime against 15-year-old.
In a statement, issued to the ECHO yesterday, detective chief inspector Craig Sumner, of Merseyside Police, said: “Incidents such as this will not be tolerated and I would appeal to anyone who was in the area around Huyton Hey Road on Saturday night and saw anything to contact us.
“We are passionate about maintaining the right of all our communities to be treated with fairness, dignity and respect and by working closely with our partners will continue to work to eradicate hate crime of all forms.”
Members of the public who captured the incident on their mobile phones, or drivers whose dashcams recorded what happened are urged bu police to come forward.
Anyone with information is asked to direct message on Twitter @MerPolCC, call 101 or contact @Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting reference 20000162007.
The incident comes at England and Wale come to grips with the nation’s rocketing rates of homophobic hate crime, have more than doubled in the last four years, according to statistics.