A 33-year-old woman from Nebraska was attacked on Sunday in a violent home invasion, which left homophobic slurs carved into her skin.
A friend of the victim who wished to remain anonymous told KLKNTV.com what he claims happened when three masked men broke into the gay woman’s home: “Three men came into her home, they broke down the door, stripped her of all of her clothing, tied her hands behind her back with a zip tie they cut derogatory words into her arms and her stomach and continued to cut all over her body.”
Immediately following the assault, the woman managed to walk to a neighbor’s home to get help, friend Erin Thompson who picked the woman up from hospital told the Omaha World-Herald.
The attack prompted a vigil by about 500 people in the state’s capital on Sunday. Police are not yet calling the attack a hate crime and the name of the victim has not been released, but confirmed that the woman was injured and treated at a local hospital, that anti-gay graffiti was spray-painted inside the home and that a fire had also been set in the kitchen, burning itself out after causing about $200 in damage, reported Reuters.
“We are shocked and saddened by the report of an alleged hate crime involving a member of the LGBT community early Sunday morning,” Tyler Richard, president of gay rights organisation Outlinc is quoted by the Wisconsin Gazette as saying. “Our hearts go out to the victim, her family and close friends. Many in our community are understandably experiencing a great deal of sadness, anger and confusion. We look to our entire community to pull together in this difficult time.”
