Boston Man Attacked With Snow Shovel, Box Cutter in Antigay Assault

Police have made an arrest in the attack, in which the victim was subjected to antigay slurs before the physical assault.

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

December 05 2019 8:31 AM EST

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Boston police have arrested a man accused of hitting another man over the head with a snow shovel and slashing his face with a box cutter after using antigay slurs against the victim.

The 25-year-old victim, whose name was not released, was walking in the North Roxbury neighborhood when the attack occurred about noon Tuesday, ABC News reports. The suspect began yelling slurs at him and then assaulted him, according to police.

"Officers rendered first aid to the victim until Boston EMS arrived on scene and transported the victim to a local area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries," said a statement from the Boston Police Department. "After further investigation, it was revealed to officers that the suspect struck the victim in the head with a snow shovel then pulled out a box-cutter and slashed the victim over his eye."

The suspect fled, but police found him a short time later. Identified as Eddie Smith, 58, of Boston, he is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a civil rights violation (hate crime), and mayhem, reports WCVB, ABC's Boston affiliate. The victim said Smith had made antigay comments to him on several occasions.

In another antigay attack, New York City police have released a sketch of a suspect, the New York Daily News reports. In the assault, which occurred in November, the victim was hit with a hammer and thrown onto the tracks at a Bronx subway station after the attacker called him a "fucking f****t." Bystanders helped the victim back onto the station platform. He was treated for cuts to his face at a local hospital. The attack is being investigated as a hate crime.