Police are searching for those involved in a disturbing homophobic mob attack at the Utah Pride festival in Salt Lake City on Saturday which left an ice cream shop worker with minor injuries and a gay couple very shaken.
Terrance Mannery, a worker at the Doki Doki ice cream shop where the gay couple sought refuge after being pursued, fought off a group of approximately 15 men who were chasing them and yelling homophobic slurs.
Said Mannery: “I stepped forward and was pretty much like no you're not coming into the store and causing trouble.”
Mannery said they were throwing punches, and sustained a small injury to his face: “No weapons, no kicking. Just punches and they seemed like they were trying to pull me out but that kind of worked to my advantage because I wanted them out of the store.”
Witness Michelle Turpin described the mob as “all very clean cut, you know like blonde haired, blue eyed, typical Utah 20-year-old boys.”
The Salt Lake Tribune adds: “A woman outside the shop tried to break up the crowd as Mannery kept fighting, Mannery said. Finally, a security guard from a neighboring building approached, and the mob ran away.”
The store has no surveillance cameras. Anyone with information on the attack is asked to call 801-799-3000.
The Utah Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those involved.
