Nebraska: Hundreds attend candlelit vigil for lesbian after attack
Hundreds of people have attended a vigil for the Nebraskan woman who had gay slurs carved into her skin and her home set on fire while she was bound inside it.
The woman was was able to escape after the men left. They had poured petrol on her floor and set it alight.
According to the Lincoln Journal Star, the petrol ignited in a flash fire but did not cause the structure of the house itself to catch fire.
She was left with the word “dyke” and two other gay slurs carved into her skin, a friend of the woman has said. Other slurs were reported to have been spray-painted in the house.
Tyler Richard, from Outlinc, a local LGBT group told the Lincoln Journal Star hundreds of people had turned out for the vigil at the Capitol building.
He had said: “Our hearts go out to the victim, her family and close friends. Many in our community are understandably experiencing a great deal of sadness, anger and confusion. We look to our entire community to pull together in this difficult time.”
Police have not yet classified the attack as a hate crime as investigations continue.
An anonymous resident told KLKN-TV: “When someone takes the time to hand cuff someone with a zip tie and carve derogatory comments or words into somebody else’s body, that’s sheer hate and at this point, this is a hate crime.”
