Three Arrested in Brooklyn Hate Crime

Police have arrested three men for in connection with a shooting attack on two LGBT people in Brooklyn, N.Y., Saturday morning. The New York Daily News described one victim as a "22-year-old man dressed as a woman," though the person's gender identity is thus far unclear from initial reports.

According to reports, this person was walking with a friend in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn around 7 a.m. Saturday when the two were confronted by the three suspects -- 22-year-old Cody Sigue, 21-year-old Matthew Smith, and 17-year-old Tavon Johnson.

BuzzFeed obtained a copy of the police report, which indicates that the three men began shouting anti-LGBT profanities and slurs at the duo, prompting the pair to try to run away. Sigue, Smith, and Johnson took chase, with Smith firing his weapon, hitting the 22-year-old victim in the buttocks.

The victim was taken to nearby Brookdale University Hospital, treated, and later released. The victim's friend apparently was not injured.

Local police managed to catch all three of the suspects shortly after the attack. Sigue and Johnson were charged with menacing and aggravated harassment with hate-crime distinctions, according to BuzzFeed. Smith was charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and attempted murder in the second degree along with hate-crime charges.

According to the Daily News, both Sigue and Johnson have one prior arrest, while Smith has been arrested 14 times on charges as serious as robbery.

Gay Star News reports that New York City anti-LGBT violence "doubled from 2012 to 2013." Nationally, there were more than 2,000 reported incidents of anti-LGBT violence in 2013.