The fatal shooting of a 32-year-old gay
man in New York City is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
The man, whose name has not been
released, was shot in the head around midnight in the city's
Greenwich Village neighborhood. He died at Beth Israel Hospital.
The suspected gunman attempted to evade capture,
running five blocks before police collared him at West Third Street
and MacDougal Street, NY1
reported.
He has since confessed to killing the
victim, who lived in Brooklyn.
Police said the suspect hurled
homophobic remarks shortly before he allegedly pulled out a .38
caliber revolver and killed the victim with one bullet to the head.
New York City Council Speaker Christine
Quinn said the incident was being investigated as a possible hate
crime.
“I am horrified to learn that last
night a gay man was murdered in my district after being chased out of
a Greenwich Village restaurant and assailed by homophobic slurs,”
she said in a statement.
“I stand with all New Yorkers in
condemning this attack.”
“There was a time in New York City
when hate crimes were a common occurrence. There was a time in New
York City when two people of the same gender could not walk down the
street arm-in-arm without fear of violence and harassment. We refuse
to go back to that time,” the openly lesbian speaker added.