An assault in the Oak Park neighborhood in which a man was beaten and stabbed was being investigated Tuesday as a possible hate crime.
A "Gay Pride" T-shirt the 40-year-old victim was wearing as he was walking alongside College Grove Drive near the Chollas Reservoir may have incited the suspects to spew a barrage of insults as they passed by in a sedan around 8:45 p.m. Monday, according to San Diego police Sgt. Michael Tansey.
Shortly afterward, the suspects' car allegedly turned around and stopped near the victim, and several men got out and began punching and kicking him while continuing to shout derogatory statements.
The victim was then stabbed in his left forearm, but he managed to escape and call his parents for help. Tansey said paramedics took the man to a hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
A description of the suspects was not immediately released.
