Denver Gay Couple Stabbed Multiple Times for Holding Hands

Chris Huizar, 19, and Gabriel Roman, 23, were walking home, hands intertwined, from a Denver nightclub Saturday when a man attacked them with a knife in what police are now investigating as a possible hate crime.

The men were returning from the Church nightclub when a man shouted "fuckin' faggots" at them, they said. "We were just walking, and I guess he didn't like what he saw," Huizar told TV station KUSA. "That we were holding hands."

After the verbal attack, the assailant stabbed Huizar in the neck, he said. As Roman tried to stop the attack, he was stabbed in the hand and back. The suspect has since been taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault. His identity is yet to be released to the public.

The couple said they feared for each other's life during the incident. "Just seeing him in my arms bleeding," Huizar explained, near tears. "I just didn't want him to die."

The two are currently raising money to pay their medical bills through a GoFundMe campaign. "We were just holding hands minding our business," the page reads, explaining that their injuries have left them unable to work. "We have hospital bills that need to be paid along with other utilities."

As of now, the campaign has met its $5,000 goal.

Update: Police have identified the suspect as 24-year-old Dylan Payne, who was arrested over the weekend and is currently being held for first-degree assault.