BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A man has been charged with a hate crime for using a homosexual slur against another man and then assaulting him with a knife in downtown Bellingham.
Court documents state that the victim and two friends were smoking outside the Horseshoe Cafe on Halloween night, October 31st, when Charles Shipley walked by.
They say he directed the slur at the victim while saying the man should die.
The man followed Shipley into an alley where Shipley pulled a knife and lunged at him, cutting his chin.
Shipley faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and commission of a hate crime.