A gay man was severely beaten near Hancock Park this morning in what police are investigating as a hate crime.

The attacker uttered anti-gay slurs as he “struck him, kicked him and beat him up” shortly before 1 a.m. in the 100 block of N. Mansfield Avenue, LAPD spokesman Richard French told the Weekly.

The pummeling put the victim in a hospital …


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… where he is in critical condition, French said: The gay man is described as being in his mid-30s.

The attacker approached the victim on the street, he said, and when the gay man described his sexual orientation, said he was homeless, and declared that he had AIDS, the beating began, according to police. French:

He told them he was homeless and gay and had AIDS. The suspect went off on him.

No suspect description was available, but at least one LAPD detective was on the case.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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