hate crime in brooklyn

Jose Sucuzhanay was not gay, nor was his brother Romel. But someone thought they were, and now Jose is dead.

The two brothers were walking home arm in arm (as is common in their native Ecuador) through Bushwick after attending a church party and then stopping at a bar afterward. Half a block from Jose's apartment, they were jumped by a group of men shouting anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs. Jose was attacked with a beer bottle and a baseball bat, fracturing his skull, and died Friday at Elmhurst Hospital.

Jose's death was a grim reminder that (despite what some people may think) anti-gay violence is still a real threat--and hate crimes against Latinos have risen sharply in the past few years.

CNN has brief video of a protest against Jose's murder (although they neglect to mention the homophobic part of the attack.) Despite the fact that witnesses heard Jose's attackers yelling both racist and homophobic slurs, the attack has not been categorized as a hate crime by the NYPD.