At least two recent incidents of homophobia earlier this week in Provincetown — including an alleged, violent hate crime — are under investigation, and the town is on alert, increasing public awareness and police presence.
Reports NBC-TV 10 Boston:
The town manager of Provincetown, Massachusetts, issued a statement Wednesday following two recent incidents targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“As many of you know, over the past few days there have been a series of incidents targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community in Provincetown,” Town Manager Alex Morse said. “These events are disturbing, and we share the fear and discomfort they are causing in our community.”
Provincetown, which sits at the northern tip of Cape Cod, has been a haven for the LGBTQ community for over a century.
Morse said the town and the Provincetown Police Department are taking the incidents very seriously and are actively investigating them.
He said the most recent incident occurred Tuesday, when police received a report of people yelling homophobic slurs from their vehicle. He said police were able to quickly locate the vehicle and identify the suspects and charges are in the process of being filed.
“Our Police Department’s quick response should serve as a warning to those who come here to cause harm that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Provincetown,” Morse said.
Tuesday’s incident followed an early-morning attack Monday in Provincetown that is being investigated by police as a possible hate crime.
Chris Kostka posted about the attack on social media. He spoke with NBC10 Boston on Tuesday, saying he visited the Cape over the weekend and was walking back from a friend’s house when he was assaulted. He suffered cuts and bruises, but did not need a trip to the hospital.
“All of a sudden I just feel myself getting pushed to the ground. I fly forward and I turn I see three guys and of course, I’m stunned from just being thrown to the pavement and I just cover my face, go into a fetal position as I’m getting kicked and getting called some gay slurs.”
Morse said Provincetown police will have additional officers on duty throughout the next several days to help look for suspicious and potentially harmful activity and be a visible presence in town during the busy holiday week.
Read the complete NBC-TV 10 report here.
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