Gay couple beaten and bloodied outside Connecticut gay bar

A gay couple was beaten and bloodied in front of the Connecticut gay bar they own.

A gay couple was beaten and bloodied in front of the Connecticut gay bar they own. The two men say the incident was a hate crime, but local authorities disagree.

In a statement shared Tuesday, Casey Fitzpatrick said he and his husband, Nicholas Ruiz — the owners of Troupe429 in Norwalk, Connecticut — were violently assaulted by a male bar patron who also disparaged them with anti-LGBTQ slurs. The incident, which occurred in mid-September, resulted in Ruiz being sent to the hospital and requiring over 50 stitches across his face and $20,000's worth of plastic surgery, Fitzpatrick said in the statement, which was published Tuesday on the bar's website.

Fitzpatrick said the assault amounted to a hate crime and that the incident is "being mishandled" by the Norwalk Police Department.

Nicholas Ruiz and Casey Fitzpatrick.via Troupe429"As of October 11, nearly two and a half weeks after the assault, no charges have been filed, nor has the suspect been arrested," Fitzpatrick wrote. "We are asking for your help and support in seeking justice for Nicholas."

The Norwalk Police Department announced Wednesday that they arrested the suspect, Carmen Everett Parisi, earlier that day and said in a statement to NBC News that they found no evidence that the assault was fueled by anti-LGBTQ bias.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/gay-couple-beaten-bloodied-connecticut-gay-bar-rcna51870

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