Overview

• Police say the Sept. 13 confrontation began on River Street when a group of men hurled anti-gay slurs at the couple as they walked toward a convenience and liquor store.
• One partner was found in a nearby parking lot bleeding from the back of his head after being struck with a baseball bat and was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess for evaluation, with his condition not disclosed.
• Boston police designated the incident a suspected hate crime and assigned the investigation to the department’s Civil Rights Division, which has not announced any arrests.
• Security footage from a nearby building captured parts of the clash, video viewed by the Boston Globe shows, and at least one local witness reported hearing slurs in Haitian Creole.
• Residents raised broader safety concerns about a nearby commercial property described as a constant gathering spot, with several storefronts shuttered days after a police visit.