Man Arrested for Attacking Restaurant Workers Over Pride Flag
Police are seeking the public's help in identifying the remaining two assailants in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime.
Police have arrested a man believed to be part of a three-man crew who attacked employees of a local pizza business.
Igor Dragun, 18, of Lincoln, California, was taken into custody at his Roseville, California home on October 1 in connection with an assault on workers at Blaze Pizza restaurant last month.
Dragun was booked into the Placer County Jail.
He faces felony assault charges, along with hate crime charges, because the attack is believed to have been motivated by anti-gay animus.
Police had been looking for three suspects involved in the assault. No other arrests have been made at this time.
Police initially responded to a report of an assault at Blaze Pizza around 10:15 p.m. on Thursday, September 19.
A man, now identified as Dragun, had entered the business to pick up a delivery order when he spotted a Pride flag on display. He allegedly grabbed the flag and threw it to the ground.
When Dragun was confronted about his actions, he hurled an anti-gay slur at employees and left the business. However, he later returned to the restaurant, accompanied by two other men, and began fighting with two employees.
A bystander captured the assault on camera, and video of the altercation has been shared widely online.
Following the initial physical brawl, an employee, who appears to be a manager, tells the men to leave the restaurant.
LAWLESS SOCIETY NEWS ⚠️ 3 males got into an altercation and attacked employees over a pride flag last night at Blaze Pizza off Fairway Drive in Roseville, California.#RosevilleCA #PrideFlag #BlazePizza #HateCrime #BreakingNews #LocalNews #FairwayDrive #CaliforniaNews… pic.twitter.com/SWvVXA7SWf
— Kristy Tallman (@KristyTallman) September 21, 2024
All three men fled before police arrived. One of the workers was taken to an area hospital with facial injuries and a concussion, but has since been released.
Chance Chacon, a witness who was inside the restaurant for the initial confrontation, told KCRA that Dragun had a problem with the display of the rainbow-colored Pride flag on the register and that an employee had defended having the flag displayed.
Chacon said he was inside his car in the restaurant’s parking lot, when Dragun and his two alleged accomplices walked back into the restaurant. The fight broke out shortly thereafter.
“I was kind of scared, too, because you never know. Like, if someone has a gun or if someone has weapons or anything,” Chacon told Yuma, Arizona/El Centro, California-based NBC affiliate KYMA. “So, that was also something that was like in the back of my head while was all happening.”
Blaze Pizza responded to the initial incident, reiterating the company’s commitment to the safety of patrons and workers.
“The safety and security of our staff and guests is of the utmost importance,” the restaurant said in a statement. “While we cannot comment on specifics given this is an ongoing investigation, we absolutely condemn this type of violence and will work with authorities to bring resolution to this isolated incident.”
The police department told KCRA on October 2 that it has been reviewing surveillance video of the incident and has interviewed suspects, witnesses, victims, and executed search warrants. They say they are partnering with the Placer County district attorney and are hoping to identify the remaining two suspects.
One of the assailants seen in the video footage shows a shoeless, light-skinned suspect wearing a torn, dark-colored T-shirt and hand wraps usually worn for mixed martial arts fighting.
Police are asking anyone with information about the incident and possible suspects to submit anonymous tips online to local police or contact the Roseville Police Department’s non-emergency line at 916-774-5000.
Rudy Shields, a lesbian who owns Anchored Eats snack shack and food boat in nearby Granite Bay and who grew up in Placer County, which includes the area around Roseville, told The Sacramento Bee that she doesn’t consider the area LGBTQ-friendly, despite an influx of newer residents from the San Francisco Bay area.
As reported by the Bee, the influx of new Bay Area transplants has reshaped Placer County, sometimes leading to conflicts over culture-war issues such as LGBTQ inclusion between newcomers and the generally more conservative local population.
The city council in Roseville recently voted, during Pride Month, to prohibit any non-government flags from flying at government buildings. A planned drag show at Roseville High School sparked outrage among parents last year. And the county lacks a physical LGBTQ center, meaning there is no safe space for LGBTQ people from the area to gather.
Shields said she does not feel comfortable flying a Pride flag at her business and only recently updated the eatery’s Yelp page to identify it as an LGBTQ-owned business. Sometimes, she doesn’t bother to correct guests who assume her cis male business partner, Ben Shirley, is her husband.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.