A lesbian couple was brutally beaten by group of men in Halifax. Police still haven't filed charges

Emma MacLean and her girlfriend, Tori, were out celebrating a birthday Saturday night when a group of men began accosting them.

What started as "sexually degrading" comments quickly turned into homophobic slurs when the crowd of about ten men realized the two women were a couple. It was after the women dared to yell back that the group became violent.

“A group of men walking on the other direction made a comment to me. My girlfriend, Tori, said ‘hey that’s my girlfriend,'" MacLean told CTVNews. “They continued walking and Tori followed them to basically say: ‘That is not OK’.”

Video obtained by the outlet shows the men kicking one of the women while she lays on the ground in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia. MacLean said that the group pushed Tori down to the concrete and began attacking her, which she attempted to stop before they beat her as well.

“I see Tori being pushed on the stairs right in front of the BMO centre and they are cement stairs and she’s on her back. That’s when all the men start punching and kicking her,” MacLean continued. “The fight or flight came in. I jumped on one of their backs and put him in a chokehold basically trying to restrain him."

MacLean suffered a chipped tooth and broken nose from the incident, with both her and Tori left covered in bruises under their eyes and across their bodies. MacLean said that her treatment was delayed after she went to the emergency room the night of, with staff saying that her nose "was too swollen for surgery.”

“I felt punches and kicks and then I felt it on my nose and there was blood. I just thought this needs to stop now," MacLean said.

A witness alerted a nearby patrolling officer about the assault, but the men had dispersed by the time police arrived. Only one member of the group stayed behind to give a statement, claiming that the women attacked them first.

Law enforcement is investigating the incident, but have not yet filed charges or made arrests. MacLean urged other witnesses or those with information to come forward.

“I’m terrified to go downtown again in Halifax. I just feel like it’s so out of your control on what could happen," she said. "It’s overwhelming. I didn’t expect something like this to happen, especially with it happening during Pride Month as well.”