Man yells slurs, breaks window at R Public House in Rogers Park
CHICAGO (CBS)-- An investigation is underway into a possible hate crime after police said a man yelled homophobic slurs before smashing the glass door of a pub in Rogers Park on Sunday.
Police said just before 6 p.m., the suspect approached a man and woman as they were getting out of their car and started yelling homophobic slurs.
They ignored him and kept walking into R Public House, located in the 1500 block of West Jarvis.
The suspect then entered the bar and shattered a window with a hammer.
The bar posted a picture of the broken window on Instagram and Twitter with the caption, "Nothing like a homophobic guy with a hammer yelling anti-gay slurs at customers and threatening them to shake up the night."
Nothing like a homophobic guy with a hammer yelling anti-gay slurs at customers and threatening them to shake up the night. WTF is wrong with people #hatehasnohomehere pic.twitter.com/oR5JBC0IA4
— R Public House (@rpublichouse) January 17, 2023
Police are investigating and it is not determined if this is a hate crime. No arrests have been made.
No one was injured.
People inside were so scared, the owner said, they thought the sound of the banging on the glass door was gunshots.
"Unfortunately this kind of rhetoric and instances are so fresh in people's mind, everyone started running to the back of the restaurant," the bar owner told CBS 2.
She said they are going to continue on being a safe space for the community.