Aug. 8 (UPI) — A man died while defending his gay friends from a homophobic gunman in Florida, witnesses told police.
Nelson Hernandez Mena, 48, was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of Juan Javier Cruz, 22, over an incident that occurred early Sunday morning in Lake Worth, Fla. Police said Mena followed a group of friends, including Cruz, who were leaving a restaurant in the South Florida town, reported the Palm Beach Post.
According to WPTV, one witness said Mena confronted the group and said, “If we were in my country I’d kill all of you like rats. “I hate you damned gays, I’m going to kill you all here.”
Mena then allegedly took a handgun out of his pocket and shot Cruz.
After his arrest, police said Mena admitted to drinking 15 to 20 beers that night.
Cruz’s mother, Amanda Cruz, said her son was not gay and that he was trying to protect his cousin, who is.
“[Mena] did it out of vengeance,” Amanda Cruz said. “He needs to pay for what he did so he won’t be racist, because it does not matter if someone is gay, lesbian, whatever; we are all humans and we need to respect the decisions of others.”
Mena was denied bond. It has not yet been determined if he will also be charged with a hate crime.
Cruz’s family appeared in court Monday and asked Judge Dina Keever-Agrama to “do the right thing” and send Mena to prison.
The family also started a GoFundMe campaign to pay for Cruz’s funeral expenses.
