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Gay couple targeted with hate crime at south Kansas City home

Posted at 12:29 PM, Jan 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-22 13:29:46-05

A Kansas City couple is shaken after being the target of a hate crime.

Paul Oldham got the terrifying call from his husband, Gyo, shortly before midnight Friday.

"He called me and was crying, uncontrollably on the phone and said he had been beat up,” said Oldham.

Gyo told 41 Action News he heard a commotion from his animals inside the house and heard something in the backyard.

"I opened the door and I felt something really cold against my head,” said Gyo.

When he walked out his back door to investigate, he immediately had a gun put to his head, while just feet away another man was spray painting his car.

The long-time Kansas City native then described the attack, saying the man who was spray-painting derogatory terms on his car, ran up and assaulted him.

"It's just unbelievable that in my own home, going outside to check some noise, this can happen to me,” he said.

The two men then told Gyo to “look away.” After Gyo immediately complied, the men ran off.

Neither Paul or Gyo have any idea who it was. Gyo didn’t get a good look at the men because it was too dark.

They plan to install security cameras but insist they’re staying strong.

“We’re not going to move,” said Oldham.

“I refuse to live in fear,” said Gyo.

The two men left behind the can of spray paint and a cup, both of which KCPD is testing for prints.

According to the FBI, “The FBI has defined a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.”

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