Crime Update
July 17 U Street-area attack remains mostly a mystery
In the July 24 issue of Metro Weekly, the story ”Adams Morgan Malevolence” mentioned a possible hate-crime incident occurring at 14th and U Streets NW. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Jack Jacobson, of ANC 2B04 in Dupont Circle, who is gay, had heard through friends that a gay man was attacked by a group of men on Wednesday, July 16, in the same U Street NW neighborhood that includes gay hotspots Town Danceboutique and Nellie’s Sports Bar.
Acting Lt. Brett Parson of the Metropolitan Police Department, the gay officer responsible for MPD’s liaison units, including the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU), now reports that on the morning of Thursday, July 17, around 3:30 a.m., officers from the MPD responded to a ”third party call” that a man was laying on the road and suffering from injuries.
”The individual was suffering from multiple wounds and was unconscious,” Parson says. ”Officers responded along with D.C. Fire and [Emergency Medical Services].
”Because there were no witnesses, and he couldn’t talk to [police], he was transported to Howard University Hospital in critical condition. A report was taken for an injured person at the hospital.”
When asked if the victim was gay, Parson says that information is ”irrelevant.” He added that once the victim regained consciousness and was able to talk to police, he had no recollection about what led to his wounded condition.
”The Third District detective office will be following up with him, but at this time there is no evidence of this being a hate crime because we have nobody to tell us what happened,” Parson says.
”The allegation that it’s a hate crime came from his friends … but there’s no evidence to support that at this point. That doesn’t mean that we won’t investigate it as a hate crime [in the future]. Right now we have nothing to go on.”
Anyone with any information regarding this incident is asked to call the GLLU at 877-495-5995.
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