Another Gay Man Allegedly Attacked in West Hollywood

A 27-year-old gay man says he was drugged and assaulted after leaving a popular gay bar in West Hollywood, reports Los Angeles news station KNBC.

Brandon Akridge told KNBC that he only had two drinks at Mickey's before leaving the bar around 1:40 a.m. on May 21, but walking out the doors onto Santa Monica Blvd. is the last thing he remembers.

Akridge, who works as a barback at The Gold Coast Bar according to his Facebook profile, says he woke up in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, covered in bruises, with a laceration above his left eye, and intubated. He had no recollection of how he got there, but he's starting to piece together the early-morning attack.

"The doctor said when he did my blood test the things that showed up in my blood were consistent with date-rape drugs," Akerman told KNBC. "The reason they don't think I fell is there's no scrapes. It's all clean bruises on both sides all the way down my body."

Akerman is unsure whether the attack was a hate crime, and has yet to report the assault to police, though he has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover his medical expenses.

But KNBC reports that the West Hollywood Sheriff's Department is investigating what some residents worry is an uptick in antigay violence in the densely populated neighborhood that will host Los Angeles Pride in less than two weeks.

Last month, another out man who works at a popular West Hollywood gay bar said he was jumped on his way home, in what he believes was a hate crime motivated by his sexual orientation.

Watch KNBC's latest coverage on Akerman's assault below.