Overview
- Prosecutors on Wednesday charged Josue Medina Flores, 19, of Sunnyvale, and Christian Gabriel Nunez Petty, 20, of Fremont, with felony assault and hate-crime enhancements and scheduled their arraignment in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
- The attack occurred early on Saturday, Sept. 19, when prosecutors say the two men asked a student if he was gay, shouted homophobic slurs, then chased and repeatedly punched and kicked him while also striking a friend who tried to shield him.
- San Jose State University police responded during the assault and arrested the suspects on campus as they fled, and prosecutors say the university’s security cameras captured the violent encounter.
- The injured student was taken to a hospital and later released; prosecutors say the defendants face prison time if convicted and District Attorney Jeff Rosen emphasized that bias-motivated attacks will be prosecuted.
- The case centers on campus safety and hate-crime enforcement and could influence university policing, community trust, and how prosecutors use surveillance footage and eyewitness response in bias-motivated assault cases.