Frat allegedly shouted homophobic slurs and left man with broken leg at party
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Police in Newark, Delaware, are investigating a possible hate crime after members of a fraternity assaulted a young man during an off-campus party on April 13.
They group used homophobic slurs and left him with a broken leg.
Rancel Valdez, 23, was attending the party with a friend.
He told NBC10 he was waiting by himself when one of the members pushed him from behind. Other members soon followed suit.
A graphic video shows Valdez being dragged to the floor and being beaten down by the frat members while a friend comes to his rescue.
Valdez said the altercation heated up after the frat members started using gay slurs.
“It’s hurtful,” he said. “I’m not used to it but I’ve heard it so much that it doesn’t faze me.”
“I didn’t even look their way or nothing, they all just came to me,” said Valdez. “They were just being rude, telling me to leave, calling me names,” he added.
Erica Bundsehuh, who attended the party with Valdez, rushed to help him.
“He didn’t even do anything wrong that day,” she said. “I ran over. I’m trying to pull these kids off. Literally felt like it wasn’t stopping because they were getting pulled off and then someone else would just come over.”
(Katie Day/Flickr)
As a result of the assault, Valdez had to spend two days in the hospital. He will have to miss a month of work while recovering.
Police are treating the incident as a hate crime because of the homophobic comments made during the assault.
The University of Delaware released a statement condemning the attack.
“This kind of reprehensible behaviour is not tolerated at the University of Delaware,” said university President Dennis Assanis. “We will take all appropriate measures in the student conduct process to ensure any offenders are held accountable for their actions.”
Valdez’s case comes just days after a fraternity was suspended at Syracuse University.
A leaked video showed frat members using homophobic and racial slurs, as well as making demeaning comments about disabled and Jewish people during their initiation process.
The video showed one student pledging: “I solemnly swear to always have hatred in my heart for n*****s, sp*cs and most importantly, the fucking k*kes.”
Rancel Valdez did not immediately respond to PinkNews’ request for comment.
