Middle Village Man Busted For Bloody Homophobic Attack

By Jonathan Sperling

Cops have arrested a Middle Village man suspected of beating two gay men unconscious as they left a bar in Williamsburg, the NYPD reported on Wednesday.

Police from Brooklyn’s 90th Precinct had been searching for Brandon McNamara, 25, since just before 1 a.m. on Sunday, when they believe he assaulted the two men, aged 29 and 34, after they walked out of Metropolitan, a popular gay bar on Lorimer Street.

McNamara allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs at the men. He allegedly punched the 34-year-old victim in the face and knocked him unconscious.

Middle Village resident Brandon McNamara was arrested for a hate-fueled attack on two gay men in Williamsburg. // Image courtesy of NYPD

McNamara then allegedly grabbed the 29-year-old victim and threw him against a tree, which knocked him unconscious, too. The 34-year-old was rushed to Bellevue Hospital with a fractured shoulder and the 29-year-old was treated at Woodhull Hospital for a broken finger.

McNamara fled the scene but was arrested by police and charged with two counts each of second-degree assault as a hate crime, second-degree assault, second-degree aggravated harassment as a hate crime, first-degree harassment and second-degree harassment, on Wednesday.

Police had shared a surveillance video frame that clearly showed a man matching McNamara’s description.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson condemned the attack in a statement.

“I am relieved to learn that the NYPD has apprehended a suspect in the brutal anti-LGBTQ assault that was committed last weekend,” Johnson said. “This attack is yet another sad reminder that even though the LGBTQ community has made advances in recent years, there are people who will hate us — and act on that hatred — for no reason other than who we love.There is no room for bigotry in our open, diverse city.”