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NYPD: Suspect Beat Crown Heights Man With Hammer While Unleashing Anti-Gay Slurs
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 15, 2014
Modified Oct 15, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 15, 2014
Modified Oct 15, 2014
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A Crown Heights man was brutally attacked on Monday morning by a hammer-wielding stranger. And the suspect allegedly uttered anti-gay slurs.
Police say that the attack took place at a Washington Avenue building in the 71st Precinct when a 33-year-old man was followed into his building. In the lobby, the man was hit on the head with a hammer and his cellphone was taken by the attacker.
The victim, Mitchell Pope, said that he was returning to his apartment when the assault began: "As soon as I got into the staircase, I was hit from the back unexpectedly. I fell down the stairs backwards, and he got on top of me and started hitting me."
According to WCBS 2, "The building has a locked door with a buzzer system, but police said that the suspect followed the man right into the building and attacked him in the lobby. At first Pope thought the attacker might have been a construction worker on the property for a recent project. The next thing he knew, he was being attacked and pushed down a set of stairs." He added, "I was afraid for my life, so I started screaming and fighting back."
Police say the suspect also made anti-gay remarks during the assault. Pope described his attacker as a "heavier guy, black with a scruffy beard, he had a skully on, and a brown hoodie." Surveillance video shows the suspect carrying the hammer as he leaves the building. Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
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anti gay slur
brooklyn
Crown Heights
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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