A Brooklyn man was brutally beaten by a gang of teenagers in Wiliamsburg last month because the teens thought he was gay. Barie Shortell was attacked by a group of six teens on N. Fourth Street on Feb. 22 around 10 pm. The group mocked and taunted him with anti-gay slurs, including, “Oh s-t, is that a guy or a girl?” before jumping and attacking him. Shortell told Brooklyn Paper, “I feel pretty confident they perceived me as a gay man and attacked me, but I can’t understand why they did what they did. I looked horrible. Blood was everywhere.”

He wasn't robbed, but he was left with a broken nose, jaw and eye socket. Surgeons operated for nearly 10 hours resetting his jaw and putting three metal plates in his head—one surgeon compared the force of impact to that of a car accident. The attack has now been deemed a hate crime, but no arrests have been made.

Shortell is recovering now; since he has no health insurance, his friends have organized a fundraiser at Blackout Bar in Greenpoint next Wednesday for him, called "Gay Bash: A Benefit For Barie Shortell." You can see all the information about the event here; there is also a Facebook page, and a donation page for Shortell here.