Police are asking the public’s assistance in identifying the suspect wanted for a vicious gay bashing earlier this week in Chelsea at the Dallas BBQ restaurant, at 281 Eighth Ave., just north of W. 23rd St.
Police described the suspect as a light-skinned black male, wearing a black blazer and a white shirt.
On Tues., May 5, around 11 p.m., a gay couple and a diner from another group of people had words after one of the gay men — who was reportedly upset over a death in his family — allegedly knocked over a drink on his way out of the place.
Jonathan Snipes, 32, said he had overheard the attacker utter a slur, “White faggots, spilling drinks,” which led to the verbal dispute, which then turned physical.
According to reports, the attacker knocked Snipes down and allegedly called him “faggot” while kicking his face and spine. The onslaught reportedly knocked one of Snipes’s teeth loose, snapped the cartilage in his ear, and left him with head bruising.
The assault ended on a sickening note with the attacker slamming Snipes’s boyfriend, Ethan York-Adams, 25, on the head with a wooden chair. York-Adams had been unaware the blow was even coming, and, as captured on video, the sound of the seat cracking on his skull is horrifically loud, after which he immediately slumps to the ground, out of view under a table.
Police said EMS medics responded to the scene within minutes but York-Adams refused medical attention.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, at 800-577-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Web site, www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting them to 274637(CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
