Assault

This blog is originally appeared at Them.

Law enforcement reviewed cell phone footage of the assault.

Maryland police have arrested 12 Salisbury University students accused of using Grindr to target and assault a gay man due to his sexuality in October.

According to a press release from the Salisbury Police Department (SPD), the assault took place at an off-campus apartment complex for college students. Local outlet WBOC reports that, based on charging documents, the victim was initially contacted on Grindr by an individual — later identified by police as 18-year-old Zachary Leinemann — who falsely claimed to be 16 years old, the legal age of consent in Maryland.

WBOC says that, per the police, Leinemann then lured the victim to the off-campus apartment complex on October 15 under the pretense of sex. The victim told police that upon arrival, he was ambushed by about 15 men and was forced to sit on a chair in the middle of the room while they kicked, punched, and spit on him for several minutes while calling him derogatory names.

CBS News reports that a video of the assault shows one of the suspects hitting a victim with a cookie sheet.

“Why are you getting up? Make one more move, and I swear I’m going to punch the **** out of you, bro,” one of the suspects yells in the video. “Get back! Lay down. Lay down. Lay down, or I’m going to punch the **** out of you!”

Although the victim allegedly attempted to leave multiple times, he was thrown to the floor and warned by his attackers to tell no one what had happened. After seeking medical attention, the victim discovered that he had a broken rib and sustained bruising all over his body as a result of the assault.

According to the Salisbury Police Department, seven of the 12 individuals are associated with Salisbury University’s chapter of the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The students have been identified as 20-year-old Ryder Baker; 18-year-old Bennan Aird; 20-year-old Riley Brister; 19-year-old Cruz Cespedes; 20-year-old Dylan Earp; 19-year-old Elijah Johnson; and 18-year-old Zachary Leinemann.

Police identified the other five individuals involved as 18-year-old Cameron Guy; 19-year-old Jacob Howard; 21-year-old Eric Sinclair; 19-year-old Patrick Gutierrez; and 20-year-old Dylan Pietuszka.

The suspects have been charged with assault, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment, and related hate crime offenses.

In a statement posted to Salisbury University’s X account, the school announced that the 12 students, along with the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter, have been placed on suspension. Meanwhile, Sigma Alpha Epsilon has expelled the members allegedly involved in the attack, according to CBS News.

In a separate statement, Salisbury University President Dr. Carolyn R. Lepre condemned the students’ actions, saying, “Acts of violence toward LGBTQ+ and Ally communities are not only destructive but at odds with the principles of community, respect, and belonging that bind us together as a university.”

The investigation into the incident is ongoing. Anyone with additional information about the attack or similar incidents is urged to contact the Salisbury Police Department at 410-548-3165. Information can also be provided anonymously through Crime Solvers at 410-548-1776.

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

A video of the incident shows the disturbing assault, with multiple men stomping and kicking the victim as he defensively curls into a fetal position.

A gay man in Washington, D.C., was allegedly assaulted by a group of Shake Shack employees in Dupont Circle after sharing a kiss with his boyfriend while waiting for their food. The incident occurred on Saturday when 28-year-old Christian Dingus, a D.C. resident, attempted to defuse a confrontation between an employee who had objected to the kiss and his boyfriend, who was upset by the employee’s remark.

While we were back there in the restaurant — just for a moment — we began to kiss,” Dingus told NBC News. “At that point, a worker approached us and said, ‘You can’t be doing that here, can’t do that type of stuff here.

Dingus’ boyfriend defended their actions, stating they had done nothing wrong, which led to the two men being escorted outside. As tensions escalated, Dingus told an employee not to speak disrespectfully to his boyfriend. It was then that the Shake Shack employees allegedly began attacking him.

“One of the men forcefully pushed me on my shoulder,” Dingus recalled. “Next thing I know, that seemed to spark the rest of them. They all just started attacking me, dragging me across the floor and continuously punching me in the head.”

A video taken by another patron captured the assault, showing Dingus being knocked to the ground and assaulted by several men, who are then seen running outside to continue the attack.

“There was a clear desire to be violent towards me, and I think it’s very evident in the video,” Dingus remarked.

Dingus explained that after being thrown to the ground, he curled up into a “fetal position” and waited for the attack to end. While he wasn’t sure who stopped the beating, a woman dining at Shake Shack came to his aid, and the person who recorded the video offered it to him.

The incident is being investigated as a hate crime, with police classifying it as a simple assault with an anti-gay bias, according to the Metropolitan Police Department’s report.

A Shake Shack spokesperson stated that all employees involved were suspended pending further review. “We are aware of the incident on Saturday, Aug. 17, at our Dupont Circle location and are taking it very seriously,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “At Shake Shack, the safety and well-being of our guests and team members are our top priority, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of violence.” The company is committed to taking appropriate action based on the findings.

Though an ambulance arrived on the scene, Dingus declined to take it. Later that day, after experiencing severe pain in his jaw, he visited the emergency room, where he was diagnosed with a concussion and trauma to his jaw. The emotional impact of the assault has also been significant.

“You hear all the time that this stuff happens, but I had started to believe it didn’t,” Dingus shared. “I’d been thinking of progress and how great the community is here, and for that to all be shattered like this—it really sucks.”

Tag: Assault

12 College Students Face Hate Crime Charges After “Targeted” Attack on Gay Man via Grindr

Law enforcement reviewed cell phone footage of the assault.

Alleged Assault at Shake Shack: Gay Man Reportedly Beaten After Kissing His Boyfriend

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

A video of the incident shows the disturbing assault, with multiple men stomping and kicking the victim as he defensively curls into a fetal position.