New Jersey gay
rights activists are urging the mayor of Newark to
investigate an execution-style murder that occurred in
August as a possible gay hate crime.
The Washington
Blade reports that at least one of the victims was
gay. Officials have denied that the attack was a hate
crime but rather a robbery.
The Newark
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer &
Two-Spirited Concerns Group wrote to Mayor Cory Booker,
questioning why the murdered young adults'
sexual orientation was not taken into account or
released to the media.
"This happened
despite the fact that several sources, including
friends, boyfriends/lovers of at least one of the victims,
and perhaps one of the parents knew that one or more
of the murdered students were gay," wrote James
Credle, a local activist, on behalf of the group.
Garden State
Equality, New Jersey's statewide gay rights advocacy
group, has endorsed the letter.
Three Delaware
State University students were killed and another was
wounded. Dashon Harvey, 20; Terrance Aeriel, 18; and Iofemi
Hightower, 18, died at the scene. Terrance's
sister, Natasha, who survived a gunshot wound to the
head, has helped police identify six suspects, three of whom
are minors.
Essex County,
N.J., prosecutor's office spokesman Paul Loriquet
said in the article that robbery was a factor in the
murder but that the motive is still being
investigated. (The Advocate)
