A gay man from Liverpool, England is in critical condition with multiple skull fractures, a fractured eye socket and fractured cheekbone because of a multiple-person assault Sunday.
James Parkes, 22, was with his boyfriend and two friends when he was attacked and brutally beaten by what initially reported as 13 people. The BBC updated reports yesterday saying it might have been as many as 20 people. One of Parkes’ friends was also punched in the face, according to reports.
Parkes is also an off-duty police officer trainee.
Six teenagers were released on bail Tuesday after being arrested in connection with the beating. Four boys, ages 14 and 17, and two of the boys who are 15, remain in police custody on the suspicion of assault. Detectives say they have acquired closed-circuit TV footage from investigations, but the information remains classified.
“We are treating the assault as a homophobic hate crime, and this incident shows there are still some people who have not learned that crimes of this type are completely unacceptable,” detective Tim Keelan told the BBC.
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-Kim Brown
