Miami Beach Attack On Gay Man Called A Hate Crime
MIAMI BEACH (Reuters) - The Miami Beach police department said Wednesday it was investigating the stabbing of a homosexual man by three young women as a hate crime.
``They targeted him due to his sexual preference,'' Miami Beach Detective Michael Jaccarino said. ``This is very rare. The gay community is well established in Miami Beach and we rarely have any problems with the gay and straight communities.''
The attack took place before dawn Sunday when three women in a car yelled anti-gay slurs at James Gentry, a 25-year-old waiter, as he left the upscale gay nightclub Twist in Miami Beach's trendy South Beach neighborhood, he told police.
Gentry said he yelled back before getting into a cab and going home. He told police he did not notice the women had followed until after the cab had dropped him off.
A punch from one of the women prompted a fist fight. Gentry said he did not realize he had been stabbed twice in the back until he saw one of his attackers wiping blood off a knife.
``This is the first time I recall this type of crime. How many people expect to be stabbed by a girl?'' Jaccarino said. ``The comments about sexual preference make it even rarer.''
Gentry described his attackers as Hispanic women in their early 20s with long, dark hair.
-- Gregory P. Nowell Associate Professor Department of Political Science, Milne 100 State University of New York 135 Western Ave. Albany, New York 12222
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