Man shot dead after standing up for gay friends against homophobic attacker

Juan Javier Cruz died instantly after being shot

Tributes have poured in for Mr Cruz (CBS)

Police in Florida have said a young man has been killed after defending a group of gay friends from a man who alleged unleashed a volley or homophobic abuse before shooting him dead.

Juan Javier Cruz was killed outside the Restaurante Y Pupuseria Las Flores in Lake Worth, where he and his friends had spent the evening. Reports say that when they left, the group was confronted by a man who verbally abused them.

“If we were in my country I’d kill all of you rats,” the man allegedly shouted at the victims, according to witnesses who told the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. “I hate you damned gays. I’m going to kill you all here.”

It was at that point that Mr Cruz, 22, stepped forward to defend his friends. When he did so, the man took out a handgun and fired several shots.

His cousin, Pedro Cruz, said he believed the gunman was aiming at him but that his cousin pushed him out of the way and was struck instead. He died in his arms. “He died instantly,” he told CBS.

Relatives of Mr Cruz have left flowers and candles at the spot where he was killed. “He always said ‘Keep your head up. Be who you are’,” said one.

A fund-raising page has been set up to help pay for the costs of a funeral.

Police said that a suspect, Nelson Hernandez Mena, 48, has been arrested and ordered to be held without bail at the Palm Beach County jail on murder charges.

Reports said that Mr Mena, originally from Honduras, told police he had drank 15 beers before the incident.

Mr Mena is being held on murder charges (Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department ) (Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department)

Officials said the investigation into the shooting remains active, and that it too early to determine if Mr Mena will be charged with a hate crime, Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office spokesman Michael Edmondson, told the Sun-Sentinel.

“First-degree murder cannot be enhanced as it’s a capital crime, but any lesser charge could be enhanced if the investigation establishes hate motivation on targeting the victim,” he said.