Hate is just great

Man, 18, sought in gay bar attack
Three patrons hospitalized after being wounded
From Katy Byron
CNN

Thursday, February 2, 2006; Posted: 12:39 p.m. EST (17:39 GMT)

(CNN) -- Police on Thursday are seeking a man in connection with gun and hatchet attacks overnight at a gay bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Three people were wounded.

Authorities described suspect Jacob D. Robida, 18, of New Bedford as violent, armed and dangerous. He is wanted on suspicion of three counts of attempted murder and hate crimes, police said.

One bar patron suffered deep cuts on his head, and two others were shot in the torso, police said.

A bartender, who asked only to be identified as Phillip, told CNN he had a bad feeling when a man entered the Puzzles Lounge after 11:30 p.m. ET Wednesday and asked if it were a gay bar.

"At that time I was a little nervous as to why he was asking," the bartender said. "I don't know if it's because he felt out of place if he wasn't gay, or if it's because he wanted to actually find out if he's in the right place."

He said the man was dressed in a hooded, black sweat shirt, with the hood over his face, and baggy jeans. "He just had a stone cold look on his face ... just emotionless," Phillip said.

Recalling he checked the man's ID before serving him a drink, Phillip said the identification indicated he was 23, with an October 19, 1982, birth date.

After finishing the drink and ordering a second one, Philip said, the man moved to the back of the bar, watching a game of pool briefly before taking out a hatchet -- a small ax the size of a hammer, Phillip said. "He started swinging the hatchet on top of this customer's head," he said.

The bartender said he then called 911, trying to keep the phone from view, and urged patrons out the door.

Meanwhile, the attacker struck a second patron with the hatchet, pulled out a gun and shot the first victim in the face and the second twice in the head, Phillip said. A third person also was shot in the abdomen.

Phillip said he came face to face with the attacker at the bar door and the man pointed a gun at his face and pulled the trigger but nothing happened.

A helicopter transported one of the victims to a hospital in Boston, about 50 miles north of New Bedford, and the other two went to St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford. Police said they are in serious condition.

The Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus issued a statement in response to the attack. "Unfortunately, the gay community is used to hate crimes," the statement said.

It's so hard to believe that in this so-called 'enlightened' age we live in, there are still so many people who have been socialized to believe that people in the world who aren't like them deserve to be treated as lesser thans, to the point of killing or injuring others for no other reason than a perceived difference. Oh wait, that's what religion's all about. Enlightened age, indeed.