2 Teens Yell ‘Monkeypox F*****s’ as they Attack Gay Couple in Washington D.C.
Share
Two teenagers yelled “monkeypox faggots!” right before they allegedly attacked a gay couple in Washington D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood Sunday afternoon.
Robert, 25, and Antonio, 23, say they were walking southward around 5:40 p.m. on 7th Street NW to the bus stop on Rhode Island Avenue NW, after a Sunday afternoon outing at Banneker Pool and the gay bar Kiki.
Robert was wearing a colorful Hawaiian shirt and Antonio a white crop top with a rainbow Polaroid logo.
They were about a block north of the Shaw/Howard University Metro stop when they encountered a group of young teenagers, about five males and two females, outside the Flavor Us Market.
From the pair’s demeanor and dress, the male teenagers guessed their orientation and began calling the two men “monkeypox f*****s” and making homophobic comments about them.
Robert and Antonio turned around to address them before deciding it wasn’t worth their while. One of the teens then approached them from behind, at which point Robert turned around — just in time to get sucker-punched by the teenager, with the blow striking him in the forehead.
As Robert fell to the ground, Antonio protested, but a second teenager came over and punched Antonio in the face. Robert struggled to get up, at which point, the first teenager struck him in the temple and broke his glasses.
“I mainly feel shock that this could happen in D.C. in broad daylight, only three or four blocks from U Street, walking from a gay bar to public transit,” said Robert, who moved to the District in 2019.
