D.C. police investigate assault of gay model as a hate crime

A 22-year-old gay man was assaulted by multiple people in Washington, D.C., early Sunday morning after not saying "excuse me" to one of the assailants, according to a Metropolitan Police Department report.

The incident occurred on the block of 14th Street and U Street, in the city's upscale Logan Circle neighborhood, after 1 a.m.

Sebastian Thomas Robles Lascarro was out at the nearby queer night clubs Crush Bar and BUNKER on Saturday night before the incident. In an interview with NBC News, Lascarro and his husband, Stuart West, said they frequent the neighborhood, which is popular with the city's LGBTQ community.

"This is an area that we visit almost every weekend," said West, who was not with Lascarro at the time of the incident.

Before going home, Lascarro stopped at a McDonald's located across the street from the two bars. While at a self-service checkout, he decided that the restaurant was too crowded, so he canceled his order.

When he turned around to leave, Lascarro said, he was confronted by a woman in line behind him, who remarked that he needed to say "excuse me."

He said he avoided the confrontation and headed for the exit, but multiple people blocked the doors, insisting that he needed to apologize.

According to the police report, Lascarro was then called a homophobic slur multiple times, including by one suspect who said: “I’m going to teach you how to say sorry, f-----.”

Lascarro said he refused to apologize, which led to multiple people beginning to attack him and "punch him all over."

As many as 10 to 15 suspects, both men and women, were involved in the assault, according to the police report.

The alleged assault spilled onto the sidewalk outside the restaurant, where Lascarro reported that he was continually punched, called a homophobic slur and had garbage thrown at him.

The restaurant was not reachable by phone Wednesday, and the McDonald's corporate office did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Police are investigating the case as a hate crime, classifying the offense as a simple assault with an anti-gay bias motivation, according to the police report.

After the assailants left the scene, two pedestrians who encountered Lascarro helped him call 911. He was transported to Howard University Hospital to be treated, the report said.

On Wednesday, Lascarro said he felt "tired and frustrated" and is experiencing headaches in addition to continued pain, swelling and bruising on his face.

Lascarro, who is originally from Colombia, moved to Washington, D.C., last year and became a permanent resident of the U.S. this year. He said he is having a hard time recounting the incident to his family, with whom he struggled to come out as gay.

"I feel overwhelmed by it all and lost," he said.

West added that Lascarro works as a model, and the combination of fear to commute to work and damage done to his face has had "a devastating effect on his ability to be successful right now."

The couple are in contact with local officials about the case, West said, and he is also reaching out to "every possible local government contact that you can think of" to raise the issue of protection for the city's LGBTQ community.

In August, a gay man accused a group of Shake Shack employees of beating him after he kissed his boyfriend at the restaurant's location in Dupont Circle, one of D.C.'s most historically LGBTQ-friendly neighborhoods.

Washington, D.C., is set to be the host of WorldPride in 2025.