The victims were senselessly attacked | Photo: NBC 6
Unveiled surveillance footage shows a group of men brutally attacking a gay couple at Miami Pride this weekend.
Rene Chalarca and his boyfriend, Dmitry Logunov, were holding hands as they left the celebration. Outside of a public restroom, four men attacked them in an alleged anti-gay assault.
Another man, Helmut Muller, tried to intervene but he was knocked unconscious when one of the four men struck him and he hit his head on the pavement. He received four stitches at the hospital.
CBS Miami revealed the footage of the attack on Monday (9 April).
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The four assailants remain unidentified as police continue to search for them.
Ernesto Rodriguez, a member of the Miami Beach Police told CBS Miami: ‘We really need to hold those responsible, accountable.’
New: @MiamiBeachPD releases photo of 4 people they say are on video attacking two gay men and a Good Samaritan after the pride parade. If you know them contact detectives. @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/jwl8XxZ9GV
— Jamie Guirola (@jamieNBC6) April 10, 2018
An ‘unnecessary’ attack
Police have not identified the attack as a hate crime. Rodriguez simply described the assault as ‘completely uncalled for and unnecessary’.
However, Chalarca and Logunov believe the men assaulted them due to their sexuality. Chalarca told NBC 6 that one of the men used anti-gay slurs in Spanish.
‘We were together,’ he said. ‘So for me, it’s like, yes, it was a hate crime.’
Gay couple says they were just holding hands when they were attacked on Miami Beach during Pride. @MiamiBeachPD looking for 4 suspects. @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/lCSMXP7GRf
— Jamie Guirola (@jamieNBC6) April 10, 2018
Logunov doubled down: ‘We probably provoked them because we were walking together, holding hands. It was gay pride. South Beach was full of gay people.’
Paramedics treated them at the scene, where both men suffered numerous cuts and bruises.
The incident put a dark cloud over the otherwise celebratory day, which included Gus Kenworthy.
