Christian Dingus beaten up by Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C Shake Shack workers for kissing boyfriend as attack is now being investigated as a possible anti-gay hate crime. No arrests made.
A gay man has accused a group of Washington, D.C., Shake Shack employees of beating him after he kissed his boyfriend inside the fast food location while waiting for their order.
Christian Dingus, 28, was with his partner and a group of friends at a Dupont Circle location Saturday night when the incident occurred according to NBC News. They had put in their order and were hanging around waiting for their food.
‘And while we were back there — kind of briefly — we began to kiss,’ Dingus told the outlet. ‘And at that point, a worker came out to us and said that, you know, you can’t be doing that here, can’t do that type of stuff here.’
Would customer have been attacked had he been kissing a woman?
The couple separated, Dingus said, but his partner got upset at the employee and insisted the men had done nothing wrong. Dingus’ partner was then allegedly escorted out of the restaurant, where a heated verbal argument occurred.
Dingus said that when he defended his partner, insisting the employees not speak to his boyfriend that way, the employees who went outside turned to him.
‘And then one of the men, pretty forcefully, like, pushed me out of the way on my shoulder,’ Dingus said. ‘And then, you know, next thing I know, that kind of just, I think, sparked the rest of them. … They all just kind of started attacking me at that point, dragging me back through the floor and continuously punching me in my head.’
Video of the alleged assault taken by a Shake Shack patron appears to show a man being shoved as two others in black Shake Shack T-shirts punch at his head. Two more people appear, also in Shake Shack shirts, but it’s unclear what follows.
The clip is 30 seconds long, recorded through windows from inside the restaurant. It does not show what led to the alleged assault or include audio of the men outside.
‘There was a desire to be violent towards me, and I think it’s very evident in that film,’ Dingus said.
Adding, ‘If we were a straight couple, we probably wouldn’t have been broken up for kissing in the back of the restaurant.’
Dingus said he wasn’t sure who broke up the attack as he curled up on the ground to protect himself. He said that a woman who was a patron at the location came out to help him and that someone who recorded the attack offered him a video of the incident, including the one posted online.
Cops responded and are probing the beating as a possible hate crime, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
No arrests have been made.
Dingus was treated by D.C. Fire emergency medical service on scene.
Meanwhile, Shake Shack said the staffers involved have been suspended pending an investigation.
Shake Shack have since said they are fully cooperating with authorities as they launch their investigation.
