Two gay men left bloodied in horrific ‘homophobic’ attack while on night out in Perth
Adrian Lea (pictured) was left with a fractured nose after a homophobic attack on him and his friend in Perth on Sunday, 9 April. (Beyond A Hug/Facebook)
Two gay men have been assaulted in a homophobic attack that left both bleeding and one with a fractured nose.
In the early hours of Sunday (9 April), Adrian Lea and Meredith DC were attacked in the Western Australia capital Perth.
A friend of the pair, Llisa Llewis, posted about the incident on Facebook, writing that her “gay husband” Lea and “another beautiful friend” were “cowardly attacked whil[e] walking through Northbridge”.
“My friends are among the most beautiful people I have ever met and bring light and happiness to everyone they meet.”
Llewis added that the people who attacked them “could only be low life, insecure scumbags who are filled with hate”, adding that she hopes the culprits are charged.
The post, which has been liked more than 200 times, has received numerous comments underneath with most people sharing their shock.
In an interview with 9 News Perth Lea, 37, who was left with a fractured nose, explained that he and Meredith were walking between two gay nightclubs, which are about 400 metres apart, when the attack happened.
“I don’t remember what the conversation was about. He asked me if I was gay, then just called his friend and boom.
“Both of them jumped on me and started hitting me in the face.”
“As I got up, my nose was running… it completely blindsided me. I was in a daze and I was like, ‘What the hell is going on?’ They were yelling out to ‘kick him in the head’.”
The assault only ended when a passer-by intervened, but the two men fled before the police arrived.
In response to the attack, LGBTQ+ charity Beyond A Hug has called for a protest against homophobic hate crime.
They hope to hold the demonstration on Sunday (16 April) in a bid to create a “community line” of people standing hand-in-hand between The Court Hotel and Connection Nightclub where the pair were attacked.
“Acts and displays of violence and hate towards our community will not be accepted,” the charity wrote on Facebook.
A police spokesperson said they would not speculate on the motivation for the attack but added: “Around midnight on Saturday night, while on patrol in Northbridge, police became aware of an altercation involving several males near William Street and James Street.
“Two men received injuries as a result and Perth Police are now conducting further inquiries into the altercation and are seeking to identify who else may have been involved.”
The spokesperson asked any witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers in Australia.
Although the attack took place in Australia, UK government data shows recorded hate crimes in England and Wales have been on the rise annually since at least the year ending March 2013.
There was a 26 per cent jump in those recorded crimes year-on-year through to March 2022.
The majority of LGBTQ+ hate crime victims fail to report the incidents because they feel it’s “too minor” and they don’t trust the police, a study found.
