Philly Hate Crime Suspect Quits His Catholic School Coaching Job
With help from anonymous Twitter users, Philadelphia law enforcement is closing in on the group of young people who beat up a gay couple on the street last Thursday. One of the suspects, an assistant coach at the Archbishop Wood Catholic school, quit his job today. The diocese announced the news, adding that "violence against anyone" is "inexcusable."
According to police, many of the suspects are former students of the same Catholic school. Some of them have voluntarily submitted to interviews with police.
Diocese Archbishop Charles Chaput distanced himself from the suspects' actions today in a statement, explaining, "A key part of a Catholic education is forming students to respect the dignity of every human person whether we agree with them or not. What students do with that formation when they enter the adult world determines their own maturity and dignity, or their lack of it."
He continued, "Violence against anyone, simply because of who they are, is inexcusable and alien to what it means to be a Christian."
The gay couple told police the group held them down and yelled gay slurs as they punched and beat them. One of the victims now has a broken eye socket and a wired jaw.