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New Surveillance Images Show Suspects In Anti-Gay Attack Near MSG

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD has just released new surveillance images of three suspects wanted in connection with the beating of a gay couple near Madison Square Garden last month.

Police would like to talk to three men caught on camera after the Knicks game on May 5. They are all described as Hispanic males in their 20s.

Anyone with information about the suspects are asked to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, log onto the Crime Stoppers Web site, or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.

Madison Square Garden Anti-Gay Attack Suspects
A surveillance image of a suspect wanted in an attack on a gay couple near Madison Square Garden on May 5. (Credit: NYPD)
Madison Square Garden Anti-Gay Attack Suspects
A surveillance image of a suspect wanted in an attack on a gay couple near Madison Square Garden on May 5. (Credit: NYPD)
Madison Square Garden Anti-Gay Attack Suspects
A surveillance image of a suspect wanted in an attack on a gay couple near Madison Square Garden on May 5. (Credit: NYPD)
Madison Square Garden Anti-Gay Attack Suspects
A surveillance image of three suspects wanted in an attack on a gay couple near Madison Square Garden on May 5. (Credit: NYPD)

Nick Porto, 27, and his partner, Kevin Atkins, 22, were walking near the Garden at around 5 p.m. that Sunday when they said four men wearing Knicks jerseys began making anti-gay remarks.

"We were walking down the street. I was called a f***ot," Porto told CBS 2's John Slattery last month. "It went from there."

Porto said he then asked the man, "Why did you say that?" He said the four men referred to his jeans and then pushed them to the ground, Slattery reported.

"After they pushed me to the ground, I stood up. They punched me in the face," Porto said. "Broken nose, knocked the glasses off my face, so I couldn't see who was going on, what was going on."

Nick Porto
Nick Porto speaks exclusively to CBS 2's John Slattery (CBS 2)

Atkins suffered a hand injury in the attack. He and Porto were both treated at Bellevue Hospital and released.

That attack was the first in a string of high-profile anti-gay assaults last month – one of which left a man dead. On May 18, Mark Carson, 32, was shot and killed by a man who first called him and his partner "f***ots" and asked if they were "gay wrestlers."

Elliot Morales, 33, was caught a short time after and charged with Carson's murder.

Porto was among the speakers at a rally in Greenwich Village denouncing the attacks and calling for an end to the violence.

"The fight is not over. It's nowhere near close to being over. We have to protect each other. We have to make sure that we're there for each other. After all this, there's still something to fight for," Porto told WCBS 880's Alex Silverman at the rally.

This past Sunday at the 21st annual Queens Pride Parade, City Council Christine Quinn – who is openly lesbian – announced a series of free self-defense classes starting next weekend being provided by the city. The lessons will focus on street smarts more than actual fighting, Quinn said.

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