Suspect Arrested In Potential Hate Crime Case Against Two Gay Men In Williamsburg

A suspect has been arrested for the assault that occurred outside the gay bar Metropolitan in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Sunday, September 23. After the assault, the NYPD circulated an image of the suspect online in hopes that people would send tips to help locate him.

According to a tweet yesterday morning from the NYPD Chief of Detectives, Dermot F. Shea, Brandon McNamara, 25, was apprehended. “In partnership with the community, an arrest has been made in the 9-23-18 Hate Crime assault in Brooklyn in which a gay couple was brutally attacked,” the tweet reads. McNamara, a Queens resident, faces 10 charges including assault, harassment and hate crimes.

The victims, 29 and 34, were left unconscious after the suspect’s attack. According to NBC, “He punched the 34-year-old man in the face and the victim blacked out. Then he grabbed the 29-year-old man and threw him against a tree, also leaving him unconscious.” Both were taken to nearby hospitals.

https://twitter.com/HenryRosoff/status/1045000506962259974?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

In DC, a similar assault case is being investigated in which two gay male victims were attacked coming home from a kickball league event. The DC case is also being investigated as a hate crime.