Four men are facing battery charges after they surrendered in connection with an attack on a gay couple a few hours after the Miami Beach gay pride parade on Sunday.
According to authorities, four men arrived at police headquarters with their attorney and turned themselves in. Juan Lopez, Luis Alonso, Adonis Diaz and Parblo Reinaldo Romo-Figueroa were taken into custody Tuesday and released on bond Wednesday. They each face three counts of aggravated battery.
The attack was caught on security video, showing four men beating the couple. A Good Samaritan can also be seen trying to help the couple but he, too, is attacked.
The attack took place when Rene Chalarca and Dimitri Logunov were leaving a Gay Pride event.
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“We were coming out of the bathroom and they started hitting on us, punching us, and kicking us when we were on the floor. They had no reason to, basically killing us,” Chalarca told CBS 4.
Arrest reports provided to Global News show Logunov and Lopez “bumped into each other” as they passed by the bathrooms located in the 500 block of Ocean Drive.
According to the report, the couple exchanged words with Lopez when the four men called him and Logunov “Maricones,” an anti-gay slur in Spanish.
Chalarca was then struck in the face several times, causing him to fall to the ground. Logonuv was also hit in the head and face numerous times and fell to the ground. Charlarca then attempted to stop the four suspects from hitting them both, but did not return “any strikes.” He did, however, try and also defend Logunuv during the attack.
The arrest reports say the couple received “multiple abrasions and bruises” to the face and head. Logonuv said he also temporarily lost consciousness.
WATCH: Alleged attack of gay couple in Miami Beach caught on camera
A Good Samaritan, Helmut Muller, was also injured in the incident after he attempted to help the couple and told the suspects “to stop and wait for police.” The group of suspects then started to attack him, causing him to receive injuries to the back of his head, the arrest reports say.
Muller had to spend nearly six hours in hospital getting staples put into his head, CBS 4 reports.
Chalarca told NBC 6 News that they were holding hands when they were attacked.
“For me it was like, yes, it was a hate crime,” he said.
Police in their reports say video footage “is consistent” with what Chalarca and Logunov said occurred, and several witnesses also observed seeing the couple and Muller being struck.
Miami Beach police released footage of the attack on Monday night and posted it to social media, asking for assistance in identifying the four men.
After they turned themselves in, a police detective positively identified and matched the subjects with individuals seen on the surveillance video.
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“No, this kind of thing doesn’t make me happy,” Chalarca said when asked if he was happy about the arrests. “We were happy before the fight.
“I don’t know what I feel, how I feel, cause it’s weird, partly because I’m thinking of their families.”
Logunov said he’s thankful for his partner.
“He was the one who tried to defend me and he got most of the heat himself, when he was defending me,” he said. “So I’m very proud of him. I think it’s growing much stronger and faster, so I don’t know, that’s my man. We’re still gay and we’re still a couple. I think in the end, love will win.”
State Attorney Kathy Rundle tweeted on Tuesday that the Hate Crimes Unit was evaluating the incident “thoroughly.”
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