Crime & Safety

Man Shouts Gay Slurs, Splashes Teen With Liquid In Chelsea: NYPD

The 19-year-old pepper sprayed the man after he followed him and repeatedly called him a "faggot," police said.

CHELSEA, NY — A bigot shouted gay slurs and splashed a teenager with an unknown liquid in Chelsea, police said Wednesday.

The homophobe approached a 19-year-old man in an Eighth Avenue Duane Reade near W. 17th Street on July 18 at 7:15 p.m. and called him a "faggot," a police spokesman said. When the victim fled the store the man followed him and continued to yell gay slurs at the teen.

The rattled victim turned and peppered sprayed the man, who splashed the teenager's face with an unknown before running east on W. 17th Street, authorities said.

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Police describe the attacker as 18 to 25-years-old with curly black hair. He was last seen wearing a white tank top, blue jeans and carrying a black backpack.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

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Photos courtesy of the NYPD

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