MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have arrested a man who, according to police, attacked three men in Miami Beach, who were visiting from Alabama.
Glenford Rhule, 24, has been charged with three counts of battery for the alleged attack, which happened Monday morning.
When asked if he was in fear for his life, the first victim said, “Yes, I really was.”
“He doesn’t F- with [expletives],” the second victim said.
Neither the 18-year-old tourist nor his 19- and 20-year-old friends wanted to reveal their names, but they spoke out about their brush with violence and hate that started on Ocean Drive.
As they took a photo with friends, the men said they encountered Rhule, who uttered homophobic insults.
“‘Are you gay? Ugh, I don’t like gay people,'” the first victim said. “He ended up spitting at me, and then, that’s when he threw the beer at me.”
Although the alleged attacker, who stands 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds, is not seen in the image, he is told by the victim to move away.
Soon after, “he hit me in the back with a chair and punched me,” the first victim said.
At that point, the victim said he had no choice but to defend himself. He said he picked up a knife and stabbed him.
“I just saw something shiny on the ground, and I just stuck him with it,” the first victim said. “I ended up stabbing him [on his left side].”
However, the suspect then ripped the knife out of his own back and was captured on camera apparently showing his wound.
“He had a knife in his hand, and I’m like, ‘He got a knife! He’s chasing my friend,'” the second victim said.
The group of friends would end up on Collins Avenue and Ninth Street, with one of the victims running for safety and the injured suspect not far behind.
The remainder of the incident was captured on the Sherbrooke Hotel’s surveillance cameras.
“It looked like a knife in his hand,” Sherbrooke Hotel owner Mitch Novick said. “People were turning around with fear in their eyes.”
Moments later, Miami Beach Police officers arrived, and they apprehended everyone involved before they arrested Rhule. He was taken to the hospital before he was transferred to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
“It’s a hate crime,” the third victim said. “You know, no one should be treated like that.”
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said they are aware of the case, and they are submitting it for review to their hate crime prosecutor.
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