Queer man assaulted in ‘homophobic’ attack saved by ‘heroic’ boyfriend
Queer man assaulted in ‘homophobic’ Soho attack as ‘heroic’ boyfriend comes to aid (Linus Karp/Twitter)
A queer man has spoken out after a “shocking” homophobic attack in London left him with a head injury.
Linus Karp, an actor and writer living in London, said a man attacked him with an umbrella in Dean Street in Soho on Tuesday (23 July). The blow was struck with such force that the “umbrella broke”, he added.
“I felt a blow to my head, and I’ve never felt a blow like it, it was really hard,” he told PinkNews of the attack which happened at about 8pm, when it was still light. “The wooden handle of the umbrella hit my forehead with such force that the umbrella broke, and the wooden part flew off, and my glasses flew off.”
His boyfriend Joseph raised his hand to protect Linus when he saw something swung, so he may have “dampened the impact a little bit”.
The man shouted at Joseph: “You saved his life, I would have killed him.”
Karp went on to say: “Hearing him saying that he would have killed me, or his intent was to kill me, was when I realised the seriousness of the situation. Someone hit me with such malicious intent. It was out of nowhere, no one I’d ever seen before, just because I was queer-presenting and walking down the street with my boyfriend in Soho… it was shocking.”
He praised the actions of his “heroic” boyfriend, who chased the man and detained him until police arrived five minutes later, but warned others not to do the same in a similar situation, explaining that Joseph is trained in self-defence, and you “never know if it’s safe or not”.
He added that the man was still “hurling abuse” at him and Joseph while he was being arrested.
“He said things like calling me and Joseph pedophiles and rapists. I think that cemented the fact that this was an attack towards us as queer people because those are sort of the homophobic tropes people use against queer people.”
The couple spoke to police at the scene and filed a report, and officers seemed to take the incident “very seriously”. Karp added that given there were so many witnesses and that they caught the man at the scene, he hopes he is “not able to get away with it” because “so many hate crimes go unpunished or unsolved“.
He went to hospital for a check-up out and despite a “very sore” head, he claimed: “I was very lucky in many ways that it didn’t go worse… because if it had been a little bit lower, it could have been my eye.”
Karp urged LGBTQ+ people to be “very cautious” around Soho, and that “it’s just not something you’d ever think would happen to you, but anti-queer hate crimes are rising at an alarming rate“.
He believes what happened to him is “not an isolated incident”. The couple run a queer theatre company, Awkward Productions, so he’s seen the impact of anti-LGBTQ+ hate speech online.
“I am a cis man, but just the fact that I dress up as a woman sometimes to perform these very queer shows… we are obviously very aware of how much of this is going on,” he said.
“It is upsetting to see how that rhetoric continues… and obviously those words, whether they’re said out of ignorance or malicious intent, they do have a real-life impact.”
Since sharing details of his attack online, other LGBTQ+ people have responded with their own stories. “It’s really upsetting to know how common this is,” Karp said.
A police spokesperson told PinkNews: “Officers attended and a man was found with head injuries, believed to have been caused by an umbrella. He was taken to hospital for treatment. A man was arrested nearby on suspicion of actual bodily harm. He was taken into custody and later detained under the Mental Health Act.”
Superintendent Beth Pirie added: “This was a homophobic assault and we know it will cause significant concern, particularly within the local LGBTQ+ community. There is no place for hate in London and we will not tolerate this type of behaviour.
“A fast-time arrest was made and officers are continuing to carry out all lines of enquiry. Our thoughts remain with the victim, who has been spoken to by a specialist liaison officer and will be updated as the investigation progresses.”
Anyone who has witnessed or experienced a hate crime is urged to call the police on 101, Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit the True Vision website. In an emergency, always dial 999.
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