New York police are on the hunt for a man who brutally assaulted two men outside a gay bar in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood around 12:55 a.m. Sunday.

According to investigators, the suspect approached the two victims, then "made anti-sexual orientation statements and assaulted them" until they both lost consciousness, several local media outlets report. The first victim, 34, was punched in the face and also suffered a fractured shoulder, for which he was treated at Bellevue Hospital. The other, 29, was hurled against a tree and had a broken finger; he received treatment at Woodhull Hospital.

During the incident, a witness took a photo of the suspect. Some New Yorkers are calling not only for the perpetrator's arrest but for addressing the broader problem of homophobia. "We need for people to take action, not just to find and arrest this one person, we need people to take action to go out and vote and make sure that we don't have people and leaders in this country that actively dog whistle against my very existence," local resident Aidan Pongrice told WABC.