CRIME
Victim Speaks Out After Homophobic Attack in Brooklyn
Advocates are leading a march to condemn the wave of anti-LGBTQ attacks
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Two men were violently attacked at a
bodega in the Bushwick section of
Brooklyn on September 4 after suspects
apparently assumed they were
a gay couple.
Abimbola Adelaja, 36, also known as “Abe,”
and a 28-year-old man were buying chopped
cheese sandwiches from a bodega at 1559
Broadway at approximately 2 a.m. when two
individuals allegedly approached them. One of
the suspects then allegedly said, “I know you’re
not coming out here. I don’t f*** with f****ts.”
Moments later, the incident turned physical
when the attackers allegedly hit the victims
with a glass bottle and a screwdriver. Police
said the suspects stole iPhones and cash from
the victims.
During the attack, Adelaja said he was
stabbed multiple times in his lungs. According
to the NYPD, Adelaja sustained a puncture
wound to his chin and a cut on his lips, while
the 28-year-old man experienced slashing to
his right hand, shoulder and was stabbed seven
times. Both victims were taken to the hospital
and are in stable condition.
On September 8, the NYPD announced
that 31-year-old Jonathan Carter of Brooklyn
was arrested in response to the case and was
charged with attempted murder in the second
degree and several hate crime-related charges,
including robbery, assault with a weapon, aggravated
harassment, harassment, and menacing.
“I was fi ghting for my life,” Adelaja, an out
LGBTQ former marine, told Gay City News in
a phone call from a local hospital. “I can’t tell
how many people were fi ghting with me at this
point. I was also trying to keep an eye out for
my friend, telling him to run and telling him to
call the cops.”
As Adelaja defended himself from the attackers,
he ran to the back of the store and asked,
“Why are you guys doing this?”
“I don’t f**k with f***ts. I’m going to kill you
guys,” the suspect allegedly told the victims. “I
don’t f**k with that gay s**t.”
That’s when Adelaja’s friend, who is straight,
shouted, “I’m not gay! I’m not gay!”At this point,
Adelaja said he hid in a storage closet to avoid
the attackers, but when the victims tried to
seek help from the bodega’s staff, they were
kicked out.
“They want to kill me. How could you kick
me out?” Adelaja asked the bodega’s employees.
“How could y’all kick me out? You guys know
me? please help me out.”
Adelaja said he wants the bodega to be held
The police said the attackers were wielding a glass bottle and a screwdriver.
responsible for neglecting to respond to the attack.
“It was heartbreaking,” he said. “There was
a total disregard for my life…they wouldn’t even
let me use the phone.”
When Adelaja fi nally escaped, he fl agged
down an ambulance and was transported to a
nearby hospital.
In the wake of the attack, LGBTQ advocates
held a march at the bodega on September 8 to
denounce a wave of anti-LGBTQ crimes in the
neighborhood. Gia Love, who is friends with Adelaja
and served as lead organizer of the march,
condemned the attackers and stands in solidarity
with the survivors.
“I’m pretty sure him fi ghting for his life is the
reason why he is still with us today,” Love told
Gay City News. “His strength is the reason why
we’re mobilizing as well…we want to let people
know that we’re not weak, we will not stand for
violence against us, and we will continue to live
and exist within our communities.”
The incident marked the latest in a string of
anti-LGBTQ attacks in the area. Last month,
a man allegedly assaulted and hurled anti-
LGBTQ slurs at an individual on the J train
in Brooklyn. In July, a Black trans femme nonbinary
individual and multiple LGBTQ people
were injured in a violent rampage allegedly targeting
queer people at a string of bars in the
area.
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“These business owners are profi ting off of
our residency in this area, and they don’t protect
us,” Love said. “They will literally leave us
out for dead.”
She continued, “Not only this store, but a
lot of the clubs and bars that we frequent are
complicit in the violence that we’re facing. They
hire homophobic security, they allow homophobic
people to come into their establishments,
and they often attack Black and Brown LGBTQ
folks.”
Samy Nemir-Olivares, an out queer district
leader in Assembly District 53, which includes
Williamsburg and Bushwick, said authorities
must prioritize the safety of LGBTQ individuals
in the area.
“This is a stark reminder that there is a lot of
work to do to eradicate homophobia, transphobia,
and misogyny,” Nemir-Olivares told Gay
City News. “There is a vibrant and large queer
community in Bushwick, so it’s really worrisome…
it could have been any of us.”
Days after the incident, Adelaja is still reeling
from the attack.
“If I weren’t 220 pounds and 6-foot-2 inches
with military training, I would be dead,”
he said. “To think we have to look over our
shoulders in 2021 simply because we are gay
is disappointing. But we are a resilient group
of people, we’ve always been and we will not
live in fear.”
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