LGBTQ couple targeted in possible hate crime in Tower District, Fresno Police say

Fresno police are investigating a possible hate crime in the Tower District after an LGBTQ couple reported they were targeted by verbal slurs before they were assaulted over the weekend.

Lt. Bill Dooley said the incident was reported to have taken place Friday just before midnight as the couple was walking near the intersection of Yosemite and Olive avenues.

That’s when they say they were confronted by two other individuals who began making what Dooley characterized as “off-color comments” directed at the victims. An exchange of words between the two parties followed and the victims were then reportedly physically assaulted.

Dooley said it is department policy to treat any such incident as a hate crime until it is definitively established that it is not. Detectives are looking for witnesses who may have seen the incident and also checking for any cameras that may have video evidence.

Anyone with information is asked to call the non-emergency police line at 559-621-7000 or Crime Stoppers to remain anonymous at 559-498-7867.