California gay couple shot for holding hands while on vacation in Mexico

A gay man from California was shot while he held hands with his husband during their vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Real estate agent Carl Blea was shot in the buttocks and the bullet exit through his thigh, reports Desert Sun.

Blea and his husband Marc Lange were returning from a night out around 2.30am local time.

When they approached the condo, a man reportedly began yelling at them.

California couple claim they were shot ‘for holding hands’ not ‘a robbery gone bad’

Blea reportedly noticed the man – who was described as having a tattoo on his face – pull out a gun.

The couple believe they were shot for displaying their sexuality in public – but say the police are being uncooperative and trying to downplay the incident as a hate crime.

Local media also reported that the attack was a failed attempted robbery, which Lange strongly denies.

‘This was not a robbery went bad. It was a hate crime as Carl Blea and I were walking hand in hand,’ he wrote on Facebook.

‘We never spoke to the man who shot us. He yelled at us and then pulled out a gun and shot at us.

‘This is not correct. We told 3 different set of police officials the same story. There were no witnesses, the street was empty.’