In a horrific attack, a group of eight used a knife to carve the homophobic slur “faggot” onto a victim’s backside in Madrid, Spain.
The attack, which occurred just two months after the horrific killing of Samuel Luiz, a 24-year-old gay man, in A Coruña, Spain, a 20-year-old has found himself the victim of another hate crime in the Malasaña neighbourhood of Madrid.
According to Policía Municipal Madrid, the hate crime took place at 5:15 pm on Sunday the 5th of September and involved the attackers slicing the slur “maricón” (faggot) into the 20-year-old with a knife as he was returning home to his apartment complex.
Speaking with elDiario a police spokesperson said that police have been shocked by the attacker’s actions saying, “This is the first assault of this kind we have heard of,” they said.
“The investigation is focusing on CCTV footage and on finding witnesses in order to identify the alleged attackers.”
In response to the attack and the recent murder of Samuel Luiz, Spain Prime Minister has condemned the attacks saying on Twitter “I condemn this homophobic attack most vehemently.”
“We won’t stand for it and we’ll keep working for an open and diverse country where no one is scared to be who they are, and in which we can all live safely and freely.”
En nuestra sociedad no tiene cabida el odio. Mi rotunda condena a este ataque homófobo. No vamos a permitirlo. Seguiremos trabajando por un país abierto y diverso, donde nadie tenga miedo a ser quien es, en el que todos/as vivamos libres y seguros.
Mi cariño al joven agredido. https://t.co/YDjWENyeVa
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) September 6, 2021
The Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has also vowed to capture the attackers and promised that they will face the “full weight of the law.”
According to new statistics from the Madrid Observatory against LGBTphobia, 2021 has seen at least 103 homophobic assaults in Madrid. Additionally, 41%t of LGBTQ+ Spaniards have also reportedly suffered harassment in the last 12 months.
