Halifax woman ‘terrified’ after alleged homophobic attack

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Two women were allegedly attacked in downtown Halifax after a confrontation with a group of men turned violent.

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Emma MacLean and her girlfriend, Tori, were celebrating her birthday on June 22 when the men allegedly hurled homophobic slurs at the couple.

“A group of men walking in the other direction made a comment to me,” MacLean told CTV News.

“My girlfriend, Tori, said, ‘Hey that’s my girlfriend.’”

The comment provoked the group, MacLean said, leading them to taunt the women.

“They continued walking and then Tori followed them to basically verbally say ‘That is not OK’ — but that’s when things escalated.

“I see Tori being pushed on the stairs right in front of the BMO centre, and they are cement stairs, and she’s on her back,” MacLean recounted to the outlet.

“That’s when all the men start punching and kicking her.”

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The attack appeared to be caught on camera, which MacLean has since shared on social media, along with photos of the injuries they allegedly sustained from the men.

The young woman said she shouted at them to stop but when they ignored her, she “jumped on one of their backs and put them in a chokehold, basically trying to restrain them.”

A bystander alerted police patrolling the area, but the encounter had ended by the time cops arrived.

Police approached MacLean and her girlfriend to tell them they spoke with one of the men involved in the incident.

“The officer said that one person stuck around to give their ID and claimed that we attacked them,” she said. “He said the other people were not cooperative in giving their identification.”

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MacLean said she suffered a broken nose, chipped tooth and several bruises and bumps on her head, while her girlfriend had bruises on her arm and under her eye.

“I felt punches and kicks and then I felt it on my nose and there was blood. I just thought this needs to stop now,” said MacLean, who added she no longer feels safe in the city.

“I’m terrified to go downtown again in Halifax,” she said. “I just feel like it’s so out of your control on what could happen. It’s overwhelming.”

According to police, the incident is under investigation and no charges have been laid at this time.

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