'This shouldn't happen in this day in age. I know we're in the South, but it's time for a change,' girlfriend says

Gang of three black assailants still on the loose

A Georgia man was left bloodied and bruised after he was brutally attacked for dating an African-American girl.

The interracial couple were strolling through Ellis Square, a public space in Savannah, shortly before midnight last Friday, when they say three black men began taunting them.

The provocation began as racial slurs, then the scoffers started blowing kisses and suddenly the trio jumped the boyfriend, Andrew Quade - who is white, beating him and leaving him barely conscious.

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Insults: Andrew Quade and his girlfriend Olufisayo Bakre were strolling through the historic Ellis Square in downtown Savannah when a gang of three black men attacked him

The violent response to the mixed-race romance has left the couple in shock that such vicious intolerance still exists.

'This shouldn't happen in this day in age. I know we're in the South and all that, but it's time for a change,' the girlfriend, Olufisayo Bakre, told WTOC-TV news.

The couple say they were simply minding their own business as they walked through the Savannah spot, one of the busiest squares in the historic downtown, known for being the epitome of Southern charm.

Then the group targeted the couple.

'One of them was making racial comments at us and one of the them was blowing kisses. It was a very aggravating situation to be in,' Bakre explained.

Love: The girlfriend, Olufisayo Bakre, says the assailants taunted the couple for their interracial romance

Senseless: The couple said an interracial relationship has its challenges in the U.S. South but said they have never experienced such hostility

Quade, 23, said he tried to stay calm and just keep moving when the insults began.

'I didn't want to like freak out on them,' he told the local news station.

'I was trying to gain a little more knowledge about the situation and before we could even do that, it was just bam bam.'

He said everything happened so quickly when the gang attacked him, that he doesn't even have a clear picture in his mind of the fight.

All is calm: Ellis Square in Savannah, the scene of the vicious attack, is a serene and quiet gathering place

Come together: The urban plaza is a popular tourist attraction and spot where Savannah residents enjoy concerts and performances

The next thing he remembered was waking up in an ambulance.

'He was basically left for dead,' Bakre said of the terrifying ordeal.

'I was trying to pry them off and before I knew it he was on the floor. It happened all so quickly,' she added.

Bakre insisted that the couple did nothing to provoke the brawl and is confident that the pair's racial difference is what motivated the confrontation.

Left for dead: Andrew Quade said he remembers the insults but has no memory of the attack itself

Vicious: The girlfriend, Olufisayo Bakre, said she tried to pry the three assailants off her boyfriend as they brutally beat him

'Definitely, it's that simple,' she said, with Quade adding that there just wasn't 'any logical reason they would have to just go all out like that.'

Bakre said that being an interracial couple in the U.S. South has come with its challenges but nothing that has ever escalated to this kind of violence.

'The worst we'll get will be a stare or like a snicker here or there but not physical contact,' she said.

Let justice roll down: Olufisayo Bakre said she hopes justice will prevail in the situation

Police are now investigating and searching for the perpetrators.

They are reviewing surveillance video of the clash but say the footage is grainy and the cameras were located far away from the incident, so it is difficult to make out the faces of the assailants.