Gay man left needing surgery after being brutally beaten in ‘deeply shocking’ nightclub attack

What was meant to be a night of revelry ended in a beating at the hands of nightclub bouncers, a gay man has alleged, prompting police to launch an investigation.

In the early hours of Saturday (22 January), Ronan Gordon, a 21-year-old Manchester local, was battered by “five bouncers” at Bloom, a mainstay of the city’s queer nightlife.

Gordon said that while visiting the club on Bloom Street, security staffers without warning allegedly set upon him, leaving him with a fractured nose and eye socket that will require surgery.

“Last night while I was in Bloom, I was targeted by five bouncers and beaten in an unprovoked attack,” Gordon wrote on Instagram.

Sharing a carousel of grisly photos of him bloodied and bruised, he added: “I have a broken nose a shattered eye socket and have to have surgery, I’m full of cuts and bruises.

“I was knocked unconscious on the floor, they were told to stop but carried on.

“I didn’t ever think I would go into my home town Manchester where I spend a lot of weekends enjoying myself to be beaten up by bouncers, in a well known gay bar.”

Gordon urged anyone who has further information about the incident or video footage to send it to him.

Gay nightclub suspends bouncers after ‘deeply shocking’ beating

Bloom said in a statement to PinkNews that the bar is “deeply shocked” and that security workers allegedly involved have been suspended while an investigation takes place.

Management, Bloom added, is working directly with law enforcement to investigate what happened.

“We take allegations such as this very seriously,” a statement from Bloom read. “The welfare and safety of our customers is absolutely paramount and is always our main priority.

“The security staff involved are currently suspended pending investigation so that appropriate measures can be taken.

“We strive to make Bloom nightclub a fun, welcoming and safe environment for all our LGBTQ+ family who visits us. We do not and won’t ever tolerate violence of any kind.”

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson confirmed to PinkNews that the force has launched an investigation into the incident.

“On Saturday 22 January 2022, police received a report of an earlier assault at a premises on Bloom Street, Manchester City Centre,” the spokesperson said.

“An investigation is underway.”

For nearly a decade, Britain has witnessed a disturbing spate of violence against queer people that shows no signs of ceasing.

Hate crimes against LGBT+ people have soared by 210 per cent in the last five years, stirring fear among an already vulnerable community prompting greater scrutiny of the police.

Homophobic hate crimes have tripled and transphobic attacks have quadrupled in the last six years. The surge comes in parallel to an increase in calls to Victim Support, an independent charity that provides confidential help for victims of crime in England and Wales,

Between 2020 and 2021, 19,679 crimes fuelled by hatred for a person’s sexual orientation took place, according to police figures.

Such a number is undoubtedly higher, activists and the authorities warn, with government data showing how nine in 10 anti-LGBT+ hate crimes go unreported.

And of those that are reported, just 14 per cent are resolved by the police, the investigative journalism unit Liberty Investigates found.