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GAY BASHING VICTIM DIES OF INJURIES: Michael Dandy, 29, was attacked last Sunday; family decided to remove him from life support.
*The National Black Justice Coalition is reporting that Michael Sandy, the 29-year-old black gay man who was attacked in a vicious gay bashing last Sunday, has died.
Sandy was robbed and beaten by four men in New York on Oct. 8. Somehow during the attack he was able to break free and was chased onto the Belt Parkway, where he was struck by a car and critically injured. He never regained consciousness from his massive injuries.
Sandy died around noon Friday after his family decided to remove him from a life support respirator that has kept him alive since his attack.
John Fox, 19; Ilya Shurov, 20, and Gary Timmins, 16 were initially charged with assault and robbery as a hate crime, but those charges have since been upgraded to include murder, according to news reports. The fourth suspect has yet to be charged.
According to New York City police, Fox and Shurov posed as gay on an internet chat room for gay men looking for a mark to rob. They lured Sandy to a parking lot near Sheepshead Bay, sandwiched between Plumb Beach and the Belt Parkway in New York.
Chat messages between Sandy and the men were reportedly found on his home computer and a printout from his computer showing directions to Plum Beach, a popular cruising area, were found in his car.
The alleged attackers say that they are heterosexual, and have made incriminating statements to police, even suggesting they had tried to lure and attack gay men online in the past, Newsday reports.
Sandy, was slightly over 5-foot, 7-inches tall and weighed 145 pounds. On Oct. 12, Michael turned 29 years old. He was an interior designer who worked for IKEA.
Black gay-rights organizers and activists vowed to hold a rally today to demand an end to hate violence in the city and to hold city leaders accountable. The rally is scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. at New York City Hall.
"How many more black gays and lesbians have to be beaten, killed or attack in New York before we rise up and do something about it?" noted author and NBJC founding Board President Keith Boykin asked in a written statement. "After Kevin Aviance, Rashawn Brazell, Dwan Prince and Sakia Gunn, we have a responsibility to speak out on their behalf."
The rally is being sponsored by People of Color In Crisis, the New York State Black Gay Network, Gay Men of African Descent, the New York City Anti-Violence Project and the National Black Justice Coalition. NBJC has launched a crime watch and anti-defamation e-hotline. If you have information about a hate crime or anti-gay activity or just want to get involved email us at stop-the-hate@nbjc.org.
