Marine Philip Bushong, 23, is dead
after an altercation over a gay slur.
Police in the District of Columbia have
taken into custody Michael Joseph Poth, 20, also a Marine.
Bushong, who was based at Camp Lejeune,
North Carolina, was stabbed once in the chest with a pocketknife
during the altercation which happened Saturday between 2:30 –
2:45AM in the 700 block of Eighth Street SE, just blocks from the
Eastern Market Metro. Bushong was taken to a hospital where he was
pronounced dead.
The Marines got into a fight when the
suspect called the victim an anti-gay slur. However, there was no
reason to believe either man was gay.
“One witness heard a homophobic slur
during a verbal altercation that preceded the stabbing,” homicide
Lt. Robert Alder told The
Washington Post.
Poth, who lives in the nearby Marine
barracks, was charged with second-degree murder.
Bushong had earlier stopped in at the
Ugly Mug bar and restaurant.
“He was a very lighthearted, good
young man,” Ugly Mug general manager Brent McCaslin said. “He
was one of our frequent customers. It's a sad loss.”