Man Beaten Outside Gay Bar

A 22-year-old man was severely beaten outside a popular gay bar in El Paso, Texas, early Saturday, leaving him in critical condition, the El Paso Times reports.

The man, whose name has not been released, was waiting for a ride outside the Old Plantation Night Club (pictured) when he got into a verbal confrontation with six other men, who then beat and kicked him. One of them reportedly used a baseball bat. A friend of the victim said one of the attackers struck her vehicle’s windshield with a bat to prevent her from intervening.

The attackers fled the scene, and police are trying to locate them. It is not yet known if the crime was motivated by antigay bias.

The victim was taken to University Medical Center, where he is listed in critical condition.