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Road rage fuels assault, anti-gay slurs

Posted at 4:17 PM, Aug 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-29 21:16:41-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A shopping trip in City Heights ended with a flurry of anti-gay slurs and a road rage assault.

On Tuesday afternoon, Marco Aguirre spent an hour shopping, before heading back to his truck, parked in the 3700 block on University Avenue.

"I back out and lightly bump the car behind me," said Aguirre, 49.

Aguirre says he saw two men emerge from an older-model, red sedan. Aguirre apologized, offering to show his insurance, but the men were agitated.

"The driver came on my side and the passenger came on the other side. Both of them were screaming," said Aguirre.

With his cellphone, Aguirre, who is openly gay, capturing the profanities, including a string of anti-gay slurs. Aguirre was frozen.

"I feel terrible. Panicked," said Aguirre.

He says the slurs continued for about 15 minutes, before he decided to get out of the car to assess the damage.

"I see no damage to my truck and no damage to their vehicle," said Aguirre.

Aguirre says when he stepped onto the sidewalk, he was attacked.

"One of the guys grabbed my phone and smashed it into the sidewalk. The same guy punched me in the face, under my left eye," said Aguirre.

Aguirre says the two men got in the car and took off, leaving him with swelling under his left eye. The incident also left him determined to find the two men.

"It's not right. I need to take a stand. This is my neighborhood, and I don't want to feel threatened in my own neighborhood," said Aguirre.

Aguirre says he actually recorded the entire episode up until the phone was damaged, but only a minute or so ended up in the cloud.

Anyone with information is asked to call San Diego Police at 619-531-2000.