WASHINGTON — Police arrested a 16-year-old for the brutal beating of Thomas Lascarro who was attacked by a mob of people yelling homophobic slurs near U Street in October.
The teenager was arrested and charged with Assault with Significant Bodily Injury on Tuesday.
According to a DC Police report, Lascarro said the attack began because he didn’t say “excuse me” to his assaulters when walking past. The conflict soon spilled onto the sidewalk, where Lascarro was beaten, near the 1900 block of 14th Street, a few hundred feet away from the U Street Metro station.
“They continued to verbally assault him using derogatory language, and not only that, they escalated to a different level,” Lascarro's husband Stuart West told WUSA9 on Tuesday. “They threw trash at him, and they also dumped their drinks on him while he’s there bleeding, dizzy, confused, and alone.”
Six other suspects can be seen in surveillance camera footage and DC Police have their pictures, asking for help with the investigation into the Northwest D.C. assault.
On Tuesday, West reported Lascarro is still recovering and suffering from lingering symptoms from the attack.
"The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating this offense as potentially being motivated by hate or bias," DC Police said on Wednesday. "The designation can be changed at any point as an investigation proceeds and more information is gathered."
