In what has been described as a possible hate crime, a young gay man in Mississippi has been brutally beaten. Devin Norman was attacked in the parking lot of a Walmart in Corinth, Mississippi last Friday. He suffered a broken cheek bone as well as other facial injuries in the attack.
From Towleroad:
From WTVA-TV:
ScottInvestigators said James David Scott (right), 23, of Tishomingo County, confronted the victim, Devin Norman, 26, of Corinth, about an alleged post made on social media.
"The alleged Facebook post was apparently sexual in nature," Police Chief Ralph Dance said. "We haven't been able to verify that there was ever a Facebook post made."
After a few words were exchanged between the two, police said Scott threw Norman to the ground and kicked him several times in the face.
Scott fled on foot before being captured, but was later released on bond. He is currently charged with simple assault, but police say the charge will be upgraded to aggravated assault because Norman suffered broken bones.
A post about the attack went viral on Facebook over the weekend, and Norman's friends launched a GoFundMe campaign, "Justice For Devin," to help with medical and other expenses.
"Devin Norman is a rockstar in our small town in MIssissippi," the GoFundMe campaign states. "Everyone knows him and everyone loves him, so we were shocked and completely heartbroken when he was brutally attacked in a Walmart parking lot. He was completely defenseless as his cowardly attacker relentlessly beat him for being gay. ... Nobody should ever feel this way or be treated this way. Violence is not the answer — love is!"
It should be noted that there are no hate crimes laws that include crimes against LGBT folks in Mississippi.