Jacob Harshbarger |
SAN DIEGO—
SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego man who was beaten unconscious in an alley behind his home early Sunday morning believes the attack was a hate crime.Jacob Harshbarger, who is openly gay, said he was walking his dogs at about 3 a.m. after coming home from a night out at local bars.
Harshbarger said he was walking in the alley behind his house when he was attacked by at least three men and two women in a white car.
He said he had come home from some Halloween parties in Hillcrest and was wearing a graphic shirt that he said clearly identified him as a gay man.
Harshbarger says he vaguely remembered a verbal exchange with the group before being attacked.
He remembers one of the men calling him a faggot and hearing someone say "homo" and "come over here and kick the fairy."
When he was released from the hospital on Sunday afternoon, Harshbarger said doctors told him that he had suffered a concussion and bruised the back of his eye.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the San Diego Police Department Western Division at 619-692-4800.
