NEW YORK CITY — In what was initially reported as an attack over a cellphone but was later confirmed as a fatal anti-gay attack of a 69-year-old Queens man, Ever Orozco was stabbed seven times by Steven Torres, 22, near Roosevelt Avenue and 90th Street as the elderly man was feeding a meter with coins. The victim was pronounced dead at Elmhurst General Hospital. Witnesses say the young man approached Orozco without provocation and began repeatedly knifing him. “There was a lot of screaming, and all I could see was the guy was stabbing him — stabbing him and stabbing him,” said Eddie DeJesus, who owns a locksmith shop near to where the incident took place.
Sources say that what triggered Torres was a perceived threat to his masculinity. “He (Torres) said the victim was blowing kisses to him. That’s what set him off. This is what he is claiming.” The assailant was chased down by seven witnesses and held until police could arrive. A knife was later found near the scene of the crime.
LGBT activists have expressed alarm at the increase in the number of hate crimes against the community. In August, a gay couple were savagely beaten by a gang of six men after leaving a Chelsea movie theater holding hands. Later that month a 21-year-old trans woman, Islan Nettles, was beaten into unconsciousness just blocks away from a New York Police station. She was later taken off a ventilator and pronounced dead.
“We rarely see multiple anti-LGBT homicides in New York City in one year,” said Sharon Stapel, executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project. “Since May, we have seen homicides in the West Village, Harlem and Jackson Heights and we know that any neighborhood in New York City can be impacted by anti-LGBT violence. We are extremely concerned about this disturbing trend of violence against our communities.”
Torres has been charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon.
