Five unknown assailants injured a 26-year-old man in the Hamburg district of Horn in what investigators described as a potentially homophobic assault. According to Hamburg police, the victim had left the Horner Rennbahn subway station at the end of August and then walked along Rennbahnstraße.
There, in the area between Horner Weg and Am Gojenboom, he encountered a five-man group from which one verbally insulted him, allegedly with homophobic intent. When asked about the remark, one of the men suddenly physically attacked the 26-year-old. In the course of the assault, the five attackers kicked and struck the man, causing him to fall to the ground.
An as-yet unidentified witness came to the victim’s aid shortly afterward, according to police. In the meantime, the suspects had already fled in an unknown direction. The injured man reported the incident to the police at a later time and sought medical treatment at a hospital.
The 26-year-old described the five attackers as follows: roughly 20 to 30 years old, about 170 to 175 cm tall (one of them taller), of Southern European appearance, and dressed in sweatpants and baseball caps.
Witnesses who have observed suspicious activity related to this incident and/or who have information about the suspects are asked to contact the Hamburg Police tip line at (040) 4286-56789 or any police station. In particular, investigators urge the witness who helped the victim to contact them urgently. The hate-crime unit, LKA 73, is handling the investigation.
