Attack Victim: 'Called Racial Slur Before I Was Hit In The Face'
DENVER (CBS4)- Police in Denver want to find two men who attacked a young woman on South Broadway. She believes she was targeted because of her race.
Police are not ready to call it a hate crime, but the victim disagrees.
Jacqueline Fitzpatrick needed to go to the hospital after the attack, "I got stitches down here and there's a cut on the bottom."
Early Saturday morning the 23-year-old Denver native and two friends were waiting for an Uber ride near Tennessee and Broadway after a night out with friends. That's when two men approached them.
"These two guys came up to us and asked us to tell them something about black people," said Fitzpatrick. "We just thought they were trying to hit on us. We didn't know what was going to happen."
Fitzpatrick said one of the men called her a racial slur and without warning, attacked. He struck her face three times before running away.
"I stood up to try and get them to go away. That's when he hit me and I don't remember much after that," said Fitzpatrick.
She said she woke up to find her mouth and clothes covered in blood. Her friends called 911 and an ambulance took to the emergency room.
She had to get three stitches in her lip. She also believes she was the victim of a hate crime.
"I was called a racial slur before I was hit in the face. Even when they approached us they had something to say about my race," said Fitzpatrick.
The attack has made her reluctant to go out again.
"I have live here all my life and I've never been afraid to be somewhere or do something because of my race. It's never been an issue but with everything that's going on it's really scary," said Fitzpatrick. "I just want to find the people who did it. I don't think you should get away with hitting a girl and calling people racial slurs."
The men are described as white males, both about 5-foot-8 in their 20s. The attacker had short hair and a husky build. Anyone with any information is asked to call Denver Police.
