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Two 21-year-old Georgia men were severely burned after a mother’s boyfriend scalded the sleeping couple with hot water in what may be called a hate crime, reports the New York Daily News.

The attack happened two days before Valentine’s Day in Riverdale, Georgia. Marquez Tolbert, slept over at the apartment of Anthony Gooden‘s family. The couple was later violently awoken by Martin Blackwell, the boyfriend of Gooden’s mother, who allegedly poured scalding water on them as they slept, the report says.

Gooden, who received second-and-third-degree burns, was released from the hospital last week. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for their medical expenses. So far they have raised $17,961 of their goal of $30,000. 

From GoFundMe:

Their attacker is the boyfriend of Marquez’s friend’s mother. He didn’t fore warn them and there was no altercation before the incident. They had no idea of the hatred he held in his heart. It was a ruthless attack that no one deserves. After they were burned, their attacker forced them out of the home, showing no remorse. They had to go door to door searching for help. The first doors they knocked on, the tennants would not help them.  

I have watched Marquez’s mother suffer right along with him. When he came out to her, she told me that her son being harmed was her greatest fear. It’s a shame that our society places that kind on fear in a parent’s heart. It gives you a feeling of helplessness, and when it acutally occurs, you lose hope. Marquez is home now, but has a long road to recovery. Through it all, he has remained strong and not disheartened by what has happened to him. I am so impressed by his character. He has been focused on healing, and in a way, has been holding up his mother.  

From the Daily News:

“Get out of my house with all that gay,” Blackwell allegedly said.

Tolbert told WSB-TV that he is still in pain from second- and third-degree burns that required skin to be moved from his thigh to his back over 10 days in the hospital.

[…]

The couple says that there was no fight before the attack and that they “had no idea of the hatred he held in his heart.”

Blackwell, 48, who is being held at Fulton County jail, was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated battery. He could face federal hate crime charges, writes the Washington Times.

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SOURCE: New York Daily NewsWashington Times |  PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO CREDIT: Inform

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Gay Couple Severely Burned After Douses With Boiling Water  was originally published on newsone.com