A 50-year-old black man was followed and beaten in a possible hate crime this weekend, Fort Collins police said.
The incident happened Saturday night, and two suspects are at large, police said in a press release.
The incident started at about 9:15 p.m. at a convenience store at 505 S. Shields St., said Rita Davis, a police spokeswoman.
The victim told police he was verbally harassed by two white men outside the store as he was getting on his bicycle to leave.
The men followed the victim, still on his bike, by car and ran him off the road in the 1300 block of Baystone Drive, Davis said. They then got out of the car and beat the victim.
Witnesses told police that one of the suspects shouted a racial slur at the victim, which could possibly meet the criteria for a “bias-motivated crime,” Davis said.
The victim was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital for treatment and released.
Police then took the victim to the Larimer County Detention Center because he had an outstanding warrant for trespassing in a separate case.
The suspects in the possible hate crime and assault were driving a red Ford Contour or Ford Taurus, police said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Detective Tammy Tracy at 970-221-6582 or Crime Stoppers of Larimer County at 970-221-6868.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
