In the second act of extreme violence allegedly aimed at lesbians this week, following the double shooting at a Texas park that left one lesbian teen dead and another hospitalized in serious condition, a woman claims she was assaulted at a Memphis restaurant last Sunday.
Memphis Action News 5 reports that Jackie Lloyd encountered a former high school classmate on the patio of Memphis's Celtic Crossing restaurant during worker appreciation night. After alleged casual conversation with the woman, 28 year-old Brandon Hooper reportedly approached Lloyd yelling gay slurs and then attacked her. Lloyd told WMCTV, "This guy says you f**king dyke and slams me right in the nose and I fell back about three feet... he called me a f**king lesbian, [he said] 'problem solved, you f**cking lesbian.'"
"I was in complete shock," Lloyd reflects, "I didn't know what happened." The incident left Lloyd's face severely swollen and her nose broken in two places. Hooper was charged with aggravated assault after police tracked him down but may be facing a hate crime investigation from the FBI, as well. Lloyd had not met Hooper but believes she was attacked because the former classmate she spoke with on the patio was Hooper's girl friend. Llyod said, "I think [the attack] has everything to do with my sexuality."