Man threatened at Cleveland gas station for being gay, police say

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Cleveland police are investigating after a man was threatened for being gay at an Old Brooklyn gas station.

(cleveland.com file photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland man says he was targeted and threatened at an Old Brooklyn gas station Wednesday after a man made disparaging comments to him about being gay, according to police.

The incident happened about 9:30 a.m. at the Speedway on Broadview Road near West 22nd Street, a Cleveland police report says.

The 20-year-old victim was inside the gas station when a man walked through the door and approached him. The man shoved the victim out of the way and asked him "What are you doing in here, you gay (expletive)?" the report says.

The victim told police that he did not know the man or recognize him from anywhere.

The man shoved the victim a second time as he was leaving, the report says. He told him "Don't come in this store, this is only for people who have sense, who are straight," the report says.

The man said he would "put his hands on" the victim -- or have someone else assault him -- if the man saw the victim in the area again, the report says.

The man left the gas station in a black Chevy Trailblazer occupied by a woman.

Police have not yet identified the man who made the threats, Cleveland police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.

Police investigated the incident as a potential ethnic intimidation complaint.

Officers at the scene asked detectives to look into it further, the report says.

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