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Hoodie-Wearing Gang Of Teens Sought In Savage Anti-Gay Attack

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn man was brutally beaten by a group of teenagers last month in what has been deemed a hate crime.

Barie Shortell, 29, was walking down North Fourth Street in Williamsburg at around 10 p.m. on Feb. 22 when a group of teens started taunting him, according to The Brooklyn Paper.

Shortell told The Paper the teens started to mock him and began yelling anti-gay slurs so he decided to cross to Wyeth Avenue to be on the safe side.

That is when the hoodie-wearing gang of teens shoved him against a wall and started attacking him. Although he was not robbed, he suffered a fractured jaw, broken nose and eye sockets.

"I feel pretty confident they perceived me as a gay man and attacked me, but I can't understand why they did what they did. I looked horrible. Blood was everywhere," Shortell told The Paper.

He also said he has no recollection of the attack.

Shortell required 10 hours of surgery to rewire his jaw and have three metal plates put in his head. One surgeon is said to have compared the force of impact to that of a car accident.

Shortell's medical bills are estimated to exceed $100,000. He has no health insurance so his friends are hosting a fundraiser to help offset the costs of his hospital bills and physical therapy.

The fundraiser, "Gay Bash: A Benefit For Barie Shortell," will take place next Wednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m.at Blackout bar in Greenpoint. Check out this Facebook page for more information. 

So far no arrests have been made. If you have any information that could help solve this crime please contact the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force at 646-610-5267.

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