Wed. July 25, 2012
Lincoln, Neb. -
The FBI has been consulted as police in Lincoln, Neb., continue to investigate an assault on a lesbian in her home early July 22.
The woman told police that three men, wearing ski masks, broke into her home, tied her up, carved anti-gay slurs into her abdomen and arms, poured gasoline on the floor and set the house on fire.
The woman, whose name has been withheld, crawled from the home after the men left and found help at a neighbor's. Witnesses said she was naked, bleeding and screaming for help at about 4 a.m. July 22.
Lincoln Police Department spokeswoman Katie Flood said there are no suspects in the incident, which authorities are treating as a hate crime.
As news of the crime spread rapidly in Lincoln, a vigil came together on July 22, with hundreds gathering outside the state Capitol Building. Additional vigils were scheduled for July 25 and July 26 in Lincoln and in Omaha.
On July 24, Lincoln police met with FBI agents, but declined to discuss the details. Federal law authorizes the investigation and prosecution of bias crime based on sexual orientation, as authorizes federal authorities to assist local police in bias-crime investigations.
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