Police find the man seen in reported homophobic video
Feb 18, 2019, 6:39 PM | Updated: Feb 19, 2019, 2:01 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The man seen in a viral video reportedly striking a man for being gay has contacted by police.
The video was posted Sunday night by Sal Trejo. The man asked Trejo if he was gay, and after confirming he was, the man is seen hitting Trejo, knocking the phone to the ground.
(Warning… language)
My friends and I were assaulted by this homophobic man in downtown Salt Lake City last night. Anyone know him? The police are interested in having a chat with him. #SaltLakeCity @slcpd @slcmayor @EqualityUtah pic.twitter.com/1tPFSCADOp
— Salonge Knowles (@saltrejo) February 17, 2019
Equality Utah Executive Director Troy Williams says there was more than one person struck by this man. He claims there were two, and there’s more to the story than what we see in the video.
“Subsequent to the footage that we saw, he also pulled a knife out on them, as well,” he says.
Williams says he has spoken with both people who were allegedly attacked, and both of them told him the same story about what led up to it.
He adds, “This man was drunk and saying homophobic slurs and misogynist slurs to women who were there, saying all kinds of cruel things.”
By Monday, Salt Lake City Sergeant Brandon Shearer confirmed to KSL that it’s being investigated as a possible hate crime. The suspect reportedly came forward after seeing the video on social media.
SLCPD Detectives have made contact with the suspect who is cooperating fully with the #investigation.
— SLC Police Dept. (@slcpd) February 18, 2019
