Fifth Arrest in NYC Antigay Assault

A fifth suspect was arrested Friday in the 2009 gang assault of a man that he and others believed to be gay in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan.

According to the New York Post, Edward Gordon, 22, was charged Wednesday with gang assault and assault as a hate crime in the May 2009 attack outside the Independence Plaza complex. The victim, who was not identified, suffered a crushed nose, a scratched cornea, and five broken teeth.

"Gordon and at least five others allegedly pounced on the victim at 4:30 a.m., mercilessly pounding him with closed fists while cursing, 'White preppy faggots, bitches, gay white boys, f - - king faggots,' according to authorities," the Post reports.

Four others were arrested in connection with the attack last October and November.

Gordon, whose father is a retired police officer, claimed the attack could not have been a hate crime because the victim was not gay.