Tulsa World reports:
What should have been a 10-minute walk to a friend's house ended with a trip to the hospital for Brandon Patrick, a Tulsan who said he was severely beaten Sunday night because of his sexual orientation.

Three people followed Patrick down the 1300 block of South Rockford Avenue about 11:45 p.m., yelling homophobic slurs and threats, he said. Patrick, who is gay, said he ignored the group until they closed in and then asked why they were accosting him without provocation. The assailants then started beating, biting and slashing at Patrick with a blade, he said, leaving him with several cuts on his head and body.

The 23-year-old has been peppered with insults before, but he said he never thought they would escalate to violence. "I've never felt scared or feared for my safety before," he said. "You brush it off and walk on. That's what you're taught to do. "This time, it didn't work."

Tulsa Police Officer Leland Ashley said the people who are accused of attacking Patrick are at large and were seen in a maroon Ford Mustang from the late 1990s or early 2000s. Patrick described them as a woman in her early 40s and another woman and man, both in their late teens or early 20s. Patrick said he regularly walks through the neighborhood and doesn't know his attackers. They might have seen him previously and decided to act Sunday, he said. READ MORE