The Salisbury Police Department has arrested thirteen suspects on hate crime charges following a reported assault in October.
On October 31, police say they were contacted by the Salisbury University Police Department regarding an assault that allegedly took place off-campus. Investigators say they obtained a cell phone video of an adult male victim reportedly being assaulted by multiple college-aged men.
According to charging documents obtained by WBOC, the victim was contacted on dating app GRINDR by an individual claiming to be a 16-year-old.
The individual claiming to be a teenager, identified by police as Zachary Leinemann, then continued speaking with the victim via text and the app Snapchat, according to police narrative. Police say Leinemann then lured the victim to the apartment on University Terrace under the pretense of sex with Leinemann, who was allegedly still posing as a 16-year-old.
Upon entering the apartment, the victim told police he was ambushed and surrounded by a group of about 15 men and was forced to sit on a chair in the middle of a room. Numerous suspects then allegedly punched, kicked, and spit on the victim while calling him derogatory names.
The victim told police he tried to leave multiple times but was thrown to the floor. The assault lasted for several minutes, according to investigators, before he was finally allowed to leave.
https://www.wboc.com/news/update-twelve-su-students-now-charged-in-assault-and-hate-crime-investigation/article_17b1f8dc-9bd4-11ef-95ac-d3e25bd5df5c.html