ST. GEORGE — Police say a St. George man was attacked on Halloween as he was making his way to his car.
“This case is being actively investigated,” St. George Police Officer Tiffany Atkin said, noting the attack is believed to have been motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation.
The male victim publicly aired the incident on Facebook in a post that has since been removed from public view.
In the post, the victim asked if anyone wanted to know the “grisly reality of what my Instagram and Facebook never shows.”
On Oct. 31 in St. George, the victim was approached by three individuals who had been waiting across the street from his car.
“I didn’t know them; but it was clear they knew me– rephrase, they didn’t KNOW me, but they knew I was GAY,” he wrote.
What started out as a profanity-laced verbal harassment quickly turned into a physical assault.
“It happened real fast,” he said in the post. “I went to open my car door to go home and it turned into a … nightmare.”
The victim was grabbed, punched in the face, thrown to the ground and kicked in the back and stomach.
“I was crouched in the fetal position covering my face tasting that horrible metallic taste of blood filling up my mouth and hoping and whispering in my head ‘please someone see me, someone come help me.'”
A good Samaritan down the street witnessed the assault and came to the victim’s aid.
The suspects drove away in a black Dodge truck. Two were dressed in black costumes with hoods, and one was wearing a dress shirt tucked into his jeans.
“I have never been more scared in my life,” the victim wrote, adding that the attack “terrified” him and has left him not wanting to leave his house.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the St. George Police Department at 435-627-4300.
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