A local man became the second victim of a beating after allegedly witnessing another man taunted with anti-gay slurs in a Tenderloin liquor store last Friday.
Leo Volobrynskyy suffered a broken tooth, fourteen stitches in the mouth and a stolen cell phone during the altercation, which occurred at a corner store in the Tenderloin.
Volobrynskyy was on his way to a friend's house after leaving an opening night party for the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival around 1:30 am on Friday when he stopped at the store to purchase a bottle of wine. While shopping, Volobrynskyy said that he heard a commotion in the next aisle.
Volobrynskyy told The Examiner that he saw a man sitting on top of another man yelling, "f*ggot" and telling the victim, "This is my store, just don't come here." The victim responded with pleas not to kill him and to let him go.
Volobrynskyy, who is also gay, said that while the man was being beaten, three or four witnesses, including the cashier, looked on and cheered.
He then went outside to call the cops, where he saw the victim run from the store.
After yelling at Volobrynskyy for calling the cops, the attacker allegedly punched him in the face and stole his cell phone before running from the store. Volobrynskyy lost consciousness and awoke to find the same men from inside the store laughing at him.
He eventually made it to his friend's house and called the police. But the men at the liquor store, who allegedly laughed during the whole ordeal, denied having seen anything. Volobrynskyy was taken to the hospital and the next day his tooth had to be removed, reported SFist.
“This is actually why we march,” Volobrynskyy said to The Examiner, referring to this Sunday's Gay Pride Parade. “Because we’re still not safe. This is supposed to be the safest city for gays to live in, and clearly it’s not safe enough.”
The incident wasn't the first time Volobrynskyy saved a man's life. In November 2011, Mayor Ed Lee awarded him the Good Samaritan Award for helping pull an unconscious man out of a burning car in the SOMA.