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Police in Provincetown, Massachusetts are investigating a potential hate crime after a man was assaulted late Monday night in the LGBTQ+-friendly beach town.
Provincetown police are investigating a potential hate crime after a man was assaulted and called a homophobic slur.
Police in Provincetown, Massachusetts are investigating a potential hate crime after a man was assaulted late Monday night in the LGBTQ+-friendly beach town.
The man was attacked between 1 and 2 a.m. by three men ages 20 to 30, the Provincetown Police Department said in a statement. The victim told law enforcement in a follow up statement that the group exited their vehicle — which he identified as a black Lexus sedan — while he was walking on the east end of Bradford Street, and assaulted him while using a homophobic slur.
Paramedics determined that the man did not need to be hospitalized after an evaluation Monday afternoon. Police are investigating the incident as a "possible hate crime," and are asking for any security or doorbell camera footage from the Howland Street area at the time of the attack.
"The Provincetown Police Department is taking this report very seriously and has detectives actively investigating the incident," the department wrote. "All Provincetown Police Officers have been alerted to this incident and will continue working hard to stay vigilant and keep everyone safe."
Provincetown was the city with the highest percentage of same-sex couples in 2010, according to census data, with 163 same-sex couples per 1,000 households at the time. It has been surpassed in recent years by large cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in the U.S. increased for the fourth consecutive year in 2023 despite a drop in crime overall, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's latest report. There were 2,402 recorded incidents relating to a victim’s sexual orientation in 2023, up from 1,947 the year before, and 547 relating to the victim’s gender identity, compared with 469 in 2022.
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact Detective Sergeant Jennifer Nolette at (508) 487-1212, or via email at jnolette@provincetown-ma.gov. You may also use the Police Department’s tip line at (508) 487-2828 or email at report-a-tip@provincetown-ma.gov.
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