Police in Dallas, Texas are looking for two men who barged into a gay bar in the city and assaulted a bartender and two customers.
The men reportedly hurled homophobic abuse at staff and customers during the incident, which took place at 12.30am on February 2 in the Liquid Zoo Bar & Grill, CBS DFW reports.
Witnesses in the bar said that the men became violent when staff tried to escort them out of the building.
Victim hopes attack in gay bar will ‘open people’s eyes’ about homophobic violence.
“It was kind of nightmarish because you never know what’s going to happen in that situation,” said bartender Ronnie Mikyles.
“My face had gotten split open, and the back of my head was swollen on the right side of my face,” he added.
Mikyles wants people to “spread a little more love, spread a little more joy and cheer instead of being so hateful or anything of that nature.”
“I just hope it opens people’s eyes, that sort of thing,” he added.
A group of barely legal straights barged into our bar last night acting belligerent and when a few of the regulars stood up for the staff they beat us and fled.
Meanwhile, the bar’s owner Gary Welborn said that the establishment is mostly visited by a tight-knit group of regulars, and that the incident had come as a shock.
“You would think being 2020 we wouldn’t have that issue, but unfortunately, it’s bred into a lot of people.”
J.D. Yates posted on social media and said that he was punched during the attack.
“A group of barely legal straights barged into our bar last night acting belligerent and when a few of the regulars stood up for the staff they beat us and fled,” Yates wrote, according to LGBTQ Nation.
“I took the first punch. Several others have similar injuries. The main casualty is our safety in our own space.”
The bar’s owners have shared CCTV images of the men in the hope that people can identify them.
The bar has shared CCTV footage in the hope that the public can help identify the men. Police are investigating the terrifying attack as a hate crime.
Hey Zoo Family..Here are a few images from our incident on Saturday Night…If you have anything that would be of help please get it to me asap. I’m meeting with detectives again tomorrow at 5pm.
Posted by Liquid Zoo Bar & Grill on Thursday, February 6, 2020
Anyone with information is being urged to contact Dallas Police Department’s Assault Detective Derek Gaffney at [email protected] or 214-671-3703.