Search Continues For Suspect Wanted In Subway Attack Of Gay Couple

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Elected officials and volunteers handed out fliers in Greenwich Village Friday showing a police sketch of a suspect wanted for the brutal attack of a gay couple at a subway stop.

It happened at the West Fourth Street station early Sunday morning after J.P. Masterson and his partner Peter Moore had finished celebrating their 10-year anniversary with dinner and a show.

The couple was waiting on the platform when police said a man approached and asked them if they were gay. When they ignored him, police said he yelled anti-gay slurs and then attacked Masterson.

"He just came at me in two seconds and then he started shoving me towards the tracks," Masterson said. "He was like, 'I f***ing hate f***ots."

Police said the man punched Masterson in the face repeatedly. He said the beating ended when he threw a drink at the suspect's face, who then fled the station.

"My heart just fell because we were on such a high from the weekend," Moore said.

Masterson said during the attack, no one on the crowded subway platform offered to help.

"There was 50 or more people and no one said anything, did anything," he said.

He was taken to the hospital and treated for his injuries, which he said includes multiple fractures to his face, eye socket and nose.

"I couldn't believe that in this day and age, in the Village which is where I came out and where I felt most accepted, that now I have to be on edge," Masterson said.

City Council member Corey Johnson said it's important to get the suspect off the streets.

"When you see someone commit a hate crime, they are someone who is going to commit another crime," Johnson told CBS 2's Weijia Jiang. "So getting him as quickly as possible is what needs to happen."

Masterson is waiting to undergo surgery. Though hurt, he said he won't let the pain break his spirit.

"You might beat me down and I may look real grotesque right now, but I'm still standing," he said.

Investigators believe the suspect is a white male about 5-foot-8 in height, weighs around 170 pounds and is in his late 20s. He may also have a thick Polish accent, police said.

Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, visit the Crime Stoppers website or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

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