On Saturday night, three white males described as being in their "mid-teens" attacked a 52-year-old Santa Barbara man with a baseball bat near Market and Sanchez in Duboce Triangle. The teens, who yelled homophobic slurs at the victim during the attack, fled with the man's keys and had not been found as of Monday evening.
No arrests have been made yet and the victim waited until Sunday to report the crime. The three boys fled on foot and were wearing dark clothing.
The case is being handled by SFPD's special investigations divisions, which covers hate crimes, and is the second alleged hate crime to have occurred in the neighborhood over the weekend. The other attack on a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, occurred just over a block away on Market Street, although the two incidents appear unrelated.
Anyone with info on Saturday night's incident is encouraged to call the Police Department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411.
An again: the Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence, along with the Castro Community On Patrol (CCOP), and Triangle Martial Arts Association (TMAA), have helped form Stop The Violence, a campaign aimed at ending increasing violence in the Castro. The project helps distribute safety whistles, conducts personal safety seminars, and "take[s] any step necessary to make our communities safer." Go here for more details.
