More than 300 people gathered up this past Monday (5 July) in front of the town hall at 8pm as a response to the homophobic murder of Samuel Luiz Muñiz. Laura Menéndez reports…
Luiz, a 24-year-old Brazilian, died after a brutal beating after having been called a “faggot”. Several LGBT groups like Lambda called the event, counting on the council’s approval and support. Sergi Campi, vice-mayor, represented the council, together with several councillors from the Valencian Corts.
Luiz died on Saturday 3 July in A Coruña, Galicia. The fight started in Avenida Buenos Aires, in the promenade of A Coruña, around three o’clock in the morning. Witnesses who were present have said over 12 young men beat up Samuel while calling him a “faggot”.
Luiz died on Saturday 3 July in A Coruña, Galicia. The fight started in Avenida Buenos Aires, in the promenade of A Coruña, around three o’clock in the morning. Witnesses who were present have said over 12 young men beat up Samuel while calling him a “faggot”.
According to Luiz’s female friend who witnessed the crime, they were on a night out and stepped outside to smoke. Luiz was in a video call with another friend, and rotated his phone to show the surroundings to the friend. A male and a female were walking by and believed they were being filmed. According to the witness, the male then walked up to Luiz and said “you will either stop filming, or I’ll kill you, faggot”; Luiz only replied “why are you calling me a faggot?” before being beaten.
“Stop filming, or I’ll kill you, faggot”
— Samuel’s alleged killer
Luiz’s friend and a separate male managed to break up the fight. He then asked his friend to find his lost mobile phone. While she was away, the attacker returned with 12 others and beat Luiz to death.
Two witnesses said that the group that killed Luiz was composed of Latin American or mixed-race men, all under the age of 30.
Medical services tried to resuscitate him, but their efforts were in vain. Luiz officially died on the morning of 3 July, after having been sent to hospital, where his death was confirmed.
Several friends of the 24-year-old have shared their experience on social media. Luiz was called a ‘faggot’, which started the whole fight. Several strangers managed to separate Samuel and his attacker, as initially only one attacker was involved.
Several minutes later the attacker returned to the scene, in company of a dozen more people. They surrounded Samuel and beat him up while screaming “fucking faggot” and other homophobic slurs. They fled the scene after having left Luiz unconscious on the floor.
Luiz’s murder is, unfortunately, not an isolated case. The number of attacks against homosexuals in the country has increased in the past month, with Barcelona in particular reporting a homophobic attack every two days.
This brutal incident has led to numerous protests across the country, including Valencia. People have started taken action against these homophobic crimes, and have started raising their voices in anger and dismay.
This is awful, why suddenly the increase in violent attacks on gays. Absolutely shocking.
So awful, Bernie