A dad has said he is "absolutely livid" after his son was left with life-threatening injuries in a homophobic attack. Morgan Fevre, 22, originally from Retford, was left with multiple injuries including a bleed on the brain, three broken teeth and a broken nose in four places.
The attack happened in the early hours of Sunday, April 10 in Manchester, where Morgan now lives, and police has confirmed that it is being investigated as a homophobically aggravated assault. Morgan's dad, Paul Fevre, 53, rushed from Retford to Salford Royal Hospital when he received a call from Morgan telling him he had just had life-saving surgery, Lincolnshire Live reports.
Paul said: "We got to the hospital and Morgan was in a bad state emotionally. He said the last thing he can remember is a guy asking him for a cigarette, he said he didn't have any and the guy said why are you wearing a girl's coat?"
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The man then called Morgan an extreme homophobic remark, and Peter said Morgan couldn't remember anything past that point. Paul said: "I was absolutely livid. It was the fact he chose to move to Manchester and to find out after all this time he still gets that kind of hassle.
"One word to describe it is sad. You can't live your life and be what you are and it shouldn't happen. You shouldn't even receive verbal abuse for your sexuality, it's appalling and heartbreaking."
Morgan is a support worker for adults with learning difficulties but now won't be able to return to work as a result of the attack. He chose to move to Manchester due to its inclusivity but says he now fears going out again.
Paul said that Morgan's boyfriend, Elliot, has been with him every day in hospital and is his "rock." He said: "His partner Elliot has been an absolute rock. Morgan is going to take a long time to come back to being Morgan, physically and mentally."
A fundraiser has since been set up by Paul to raise money for Morgan's expenses as he tries to return to normality. The idea for the fundraiser began when Morgan told Paul that his teeth were bothering him the most.
The money raised is almost at £4,000 and Paul said he had been "blown away" by the response. He said: "The people who know him have said Morgan wouldn't hurt a fly and I've cried no end. The amount of comments of 'this is not our city' has blown me away by the support."
Paul described Morgan as "lovely" and said that he is "proud to be his dad." He added that Morgan wants to set up a charity for others who have been in similar situations as him if the fundraiser were to reach a million pounds.
A spokesperson from Greater Manchester Police said: "Officers were called to reports of an assault on Charlotte Street in Manchester city centre at about 1:35am on 10 April 2022. It is believed the male victim was punched by another man and required hospital treatment for face and head injuries.
"He has now been discharged from hospital. The incident is being treated as homophobically aggravated assault and is being investigated by GMP's City of Manchester CID. Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 4409 quoting incident 247 of 10/4/2022."
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