Police in London have arrested a man in connection with a brutal homophobic attack that happened on Halloween night, but continue to search for a second assailant.
The 26-year-old male suspect hasn’t been identified by Metropolitan Police but the department confirmed in a release that he was arrested Tuesday for committing grievous bodily harm and common assault against two victims.
One of those victims, Robert Kingsford, 21, was treated for severe facial injuries after the attack — described by police as “a violent and unprovoked hate crime” — which happened just after 1 a.m. Nov. 1.
According to the London Evening Standard, Kingsford and an unnamed 18-year-old male friend were “punched, kicked and stamped on” by two men wearing pink tutus. The assailants also subjected Kingsford and his friend to homophobic abuse, according to The Independent.
The men were assaulted on a street in Surbiton, a southwest London suburb.
About 24 hours after the attack, Kingsford’s father Brian, 51, posted a picture of his son’s battered face, apparently taken in the hospital after the attack.
“These thugs need to be caught, if you know who these two people were and have any conscience please report them to the police as next time they may just kill someone,” Brian Kingsford wrote in a post dated Nov. 2.
“Enquiries continue regarding the identity of the second suspect,” a release from Metropolitan Police stated.
Clint Davis is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @MrClintDavis.
