A man walking to the Bryn Mawr L stop, 1119 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., in Edgewater was assaulted the evening of Jan. 13, and he said the perpetrator used anti-gay slurs while doing so. The victim's shoulder was broken in the attack.
Scott Peterson, who lives nearby, first encountered the perpetrator at about 5:15 p.m. while inside the Dunkin' Donuts at 1127 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., but exchanged no words with him. But the man followed him out of the restaurant to the L stop and pushed him to the ground. Peterson said the man said the man called him a "faggot" and added, "I'm no girl."
Peterson said the incident was over very quickly.
"He literally came running out of Dunkin' Donuts," Peterson recalled. "I had no time to do anything. … I laid there for about five seconds, in shock."
Peterson was treated at Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital for his injuries. He sustained a fractured humerus bone and will be out of work for several months. He filed a police report, and is trying to obtain security footage from Dunkin' Donuts and Chicago Transit Authority for clues to the man's identity.
The man had been loitering in the restaurant for a while, and had told the owner he was trying to decide what he wanted. He was holding a bag and a box, Peterson recalled, adding, "He wasn't unkempt," but added that the man looked "not right."
Peterson said the man was about 25-years-old, slim and had a beard. He also appeared to be wearing pajama bottoms. Peterson has been in touch with CPD detectives about the matter.
He added that he was speaking publicly about the incident so people could use caution day-to-day. "There's so much going on right now," he said.