Hate Crime Report at UNC Was False, Police Say

A UNC-Chapel Hill freshman who told police he was attacked by a man who burned his hand and called him an anti-gay slur made a false report, the university says.

In a message just released to the campus community, Chancellor Holden Thorp says: “The Department of Public Safety has determined that the alleged aggravated assault reported to campus last night did not occur. That report, filed with campus police on April 5, was false. The University will not report it as a hate crime.”

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Freshman Quinn Matney told police he was outside his South Campus dorm April 4 when he stopped to speak with an acquaintance. As he stood on a foot bridge near his Craige Residence Hall, he had said another college-age man nearby approached him, called him an anti-gay slur, and pressed a hot piece of metal to his left wrist.

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THE ORIGINAL STORY IS BELOW

Authorities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are investigating an assault on campus last week as a hate crime.

“As a university community, we condemn this act of violence,” said UNC-CH Chancellor Holden Thorp in a statement on Alert Carolina, the campus website that disseminates safety-related information to students, faculty and staff. “Our Department of Public Safety will bring the strongest possible charges against the attacker.”

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“Everyone in our community has the right to a safe, inclusive and welcome living and learning environment,” Thorp said. “And all of us have a responsibility to stand against acts of violence, harassment, bullying and intimidation and to treat each other with civility and respect.”

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“It’s troubling when the only way we find out about a hate crime on campus is by word of mouth,” said Jeff DeLuca, a sophomore and co-president of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Straight Alliance.