Atlanta – Two gay students who attend Carver School of the Arts in Atlanta were attacked by a number of peers and authorities are saying the attack was not a hate crime.
Timothy Jefferson, 16, and Zyderryo Brown, 17, said that a mob of 20 teens attacked them, including one who used a screwdriver, and another 100 kids watched after school on April 20. Jefferson believes the attack was premeditated because of his sexual orientation.
“We got into a fight because they don’t like us because we are gay,” Jefferson said. “During the whole fight I was saying, God, please don’t let me die. The screwdriver could have hit me anywhere.”
He also said the group was shouting discriminatory slurs.
An initial police report filed on April 21 said the attack included two friends being assaulted by a mob of 20 teens “because they were gay.” Police spokeswoman Elizabeth Espy said, due to surveillance footage, that is no longer the case.
Atlanta police charged four students that were involved in the fight. Three of the teens in the mod will face charges of affray. Brown, who said he was bullied, is being charged with disorderly conduct.
