Homeless L.A. Man Beaten in Antigay Hate Crime

A homeless man in Los Angeles was severely beaten early Friday morning when he told his attacker that he was gay and living with HIV/AIDS.

NBC Los Angeles reports on the attack, which took place at the 100 block of North Mansfield Avenue in Hancock Park around 1 a.m. A spokesman for LAPD said that after the victim told the attacker that he was “gay, homeless and had AIDS,” the attacker “uttered gay slurs and struck the victim, punching and kicking him.

LA Weekly reports that the attack left the victim, who is in his early 30s, hospitalized in critical condition. No description of the suspect was available, but police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.