Allegations of a sixteen-year-old
high-school student beating another because he was perceived as gay
have shaken up a small Kansas town.
Police officers in the small town of
Tribune, Kansas – population 800 – responded to a report of an
intruder at the home of a sixteen-year-old student. When they
arrived they found the teen was badly beaten and his attacker had
fled.
Dustin Myers was arrested Sunday and
charged with attempted murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated
assault and carrying a concealed explosive, reports the Hutchinson
News Online.
Authorities say that after hearing
rumors that his classmate was gay, Myers went to his home with a
small explosive device with the intention of killing the teenager.
Family members of the victim say he is not gay.
“It has sent the school into shock,”
Greeley County Sheriff Mark Rine told 3KSN, a local NBC affiliate.
The city's high school, Greeley County
High School, has responded by offering counseling to students who
want to talk about the anti-gay hate crime.
Myers is in custody in juvenile
detention, pending a Friday hearing.