A gay couple in Las Vegas, Nevada, were the target of a violent hate crime that sent them both to the hospital.
Charles Clements told local news affiliate FOX5 that when he picked his boyfriend Vincent up from work last Thursday night, they had no idea they were followed home.
As he was unlocking the front door of their home, Clements heard Vincent call his name.
“I was about to unlock the door, the next thing I hear, he’s calling my name,” Clements said. “I come back, I see my boyfriend fighting with the guy.”
As two men attacked Vincent, the assault moved to the front porch of their home where a glass table was knocked over and shattered. It was then that one of the attackers reached for a shard of glass.
“He picked up the glass and I was like, ‘Don’t do that,’” says Clements. “He started stabbing my boyfriend in the back. The guy was kicking him in his ribs.”
According to Clements, the attack drew the attention of neighbors who watched from a distance but did nothing to intervene. “Neighbors, everybody just looking,” he said. “Nobody called the police.”
After the two men got in their car and drove away, Clements realized he was bleeding. At the hospital, they learned that the attackers had punctured Vincent’s lung and broken several ribs.
After calling 911, Vincent told police he recognized one of the men as someone who works with him at Walmart.
“It was all about gay bashing,” Clements told FOX5. “The guy came up to my boyfriend’s job, calling him an abomination, calling him fag.”
“I never been through nothing like this in my life,” he added. “I was so scared.”
Clements is now frightened to continue living in their present home, “I don’t want to be in this apartment no more because I’m afraid they’re going to come back.”
Clements’ uncle is currently helping the couple to find a new place to live.
Police are investigating the incident but no news on any arrests at this time.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help with the couple’s hospital bills and moving expenses.
