Vancouver police have released surveillance footage of two suspects in a suspected hate crime attack against a gay couple outside their downtown apartment Saturday night.
David Holtzman and his partner Peter Regier say they arrived at their apartment on Keefer Street after attending a concert around 10:45 p.m. to witness two people urinating on the side of the building.
Holtzman and Regier say that they were viciously beaten after telling them to stop, and that their assailants yelled homophobic slurs during the attack.
Regier was taken to hospital and given stitches and treated for multiple bruises. His partner was treated for his injuries at the scene by BC Ambulance.
At a press conference Friday, Chief Const. Jim Chu released surveillance photos taken near the victims' home of two unidentified men suspected in the beating.
In the photos, the men are running and appear to be smiling.
Flanked by prominent activists in the gay and lesbian communities, Chu said that the police department is paying special attention to the suspected gay bashing.
"We take the suggestion of hate crimes or gay bashing so seriously that they always receive extra attention from our most seasoned investigators," Chu said.
He also dismissed concerns that the attack was connected to Saturday night's UFC fight and, "the belief that violent sports like Ultimate Fighting put the entire community at risk by attracting violent offenders who may be fans of the sport."
Chu said he had asked the department's crime analysts to check for statistical evidence of the theory: "I can tell you there is none."
Both suspects are described as East Indian men in their 20s, around six-feet-tall with short black hair. Both men were wearing jeans and T-shirts.
