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Fight at festival in Little Five Points
During a festival in Little Five Points, an Atlanta man said he was assaulted by one of the store owners and called a homophobic slur.
ATLANTA - Social media is buzzing about a physical altercation at a festival in Little Five Points that sent a man to the hospital.
Kyle Diamond, who goes by Alex, said he was called a derogatory word based on his sexuality before the violence began. Atlanta police charged a man with disorderly conduct and damage to property, but the victim said this has shaken him.
He said he's always loved the Atlanta neighborhood for its unique shops and inclusivity.
"I came here to get away from what I experienced growing up," he said.
He said he was a vendor at a small festival on Euclid Avenue on Sunday evening. He said he asked one of the DJs to turn the volume down, which prompted a local store owner to approach him.
"He called me a word I hadn't heard since I was 15," he said.
He said hours later, that business owner came back. Diamond said he took a video of the moment things got physical.
Since then, festival-goers have posted their frustrations to social media, calling the altercation a hate crime.
Atlanta police said off-duty officers working the event responded to the fight. They report the man arrested slapped a cell phone out of Diamond's hand, striking his glasses and resulting in marks on his face.
That man faces disorderly conduct and damage to property charges, but Diamond and event organizers said the camera didn't capture the other men who hurt him and one of his employees.
"This used to feel like home. Now it doesn't," he said.