Man attacked in Fens

A gay man cruising in the Fens May 27 was attacked by a group of about seven teenagers, who hit him with a wooden plank. The victim, who asked Bay Windows not to use his name, was not seriously injured, but he said he believes the young people came to the Fens with the intent of targeting the gay cruisers who frequent the area. According to the Boston Police incident report of the attack, at least one witness also claimed that the group of teenagers was targeting gay men.

The victim, who is in his mid-50s, said he arrived the park at around 9:30 p.m. May 27. As he entered the Fens he crossed paths with a group of teenagers, about five men and two women, who asked him what he and the other men in the park were doing. The victim told Bay Windows that he assumed the teens had stumbled on the park by mistake, and he recommended that they find another path rather than crossing through the Fens.

"I honestly thought they were just good citizens of Boston who had gotten lost," he said.

According to the police incident report the young people demanded that he give them his wallet. The victim said one of the men grabbed a wooden plank and began hitting him with it. He was able to escape, but he suffered minor bruises and lost one of his shoes. He said he got the impression the men attacked him to show off for their girlfriends.

The victim said the teens left, and someone at the Fens called the police. He believes that the assault was clearly a gay bashing.

"This was a group of teenagers who had deliberately come there to engage in bashing," said the victim.

According to the police incident report, another witness also told police that the alleged assailants were targeting cruisers. The witness said he was approached by the group and asked "Are you gay?" and "What kind of park is this?" in an intimidating manner. He left the area immediately and was unharmed.

Captain William Evans, commander of D4 police station, which covers the Fens, said that the alleged gay-bashing incident was a rarity in the area. He said while police have not noticed an upswing in anti-gay violence in the area, they have noticed a rise in crimes committed in the park by groups of young people. In the past year, Evans said, there have been about a dozen robberies in the Fens committed by groups of young people, but most of the victims have been young women. He said police believe many of the young people are walking home from the movie theater at Landmark Center, and in the presence of a large group of their friends they try to cause trouble.

"When we have a group like them moving along they're targeting anyone in general.... What we see as a pattern is kids leaving the theater creating problems on their way home," said Evans.

He said in response to each incident police have stepped up patrols of the area. Boston Police are also working with the city to install police call boxes in the Fens and to increase the lighting in the park. Evans said D4 is also working to open an office in Landmark Center to allow police in the area to file reports locally rather than traveling back to the station in the South End. He said that will allow officers in the Fens to spend more time in the area and less time in transit.