KnowThyNeighbor.org

Help the Hate Crime Victims

On Wednesday, February 2, 2006, Jacob D. Robida, 18, entered Puzzles Lounge in New Bedford, MA with a hatchet, a gun and a question. His question was, "Is this a gay bar?

The positive answer that he was given prompted Robida to put three innocent men in the hospital as Massachusetts was rocked with one of the biggest hate crimes in recent times:

Alex Taylor, 29, of Fairhaven was hit in the face multiple times with the hatchet as well as shot in the face by Robida.  Alex Taylor remains hospitalized.   

Luis Rosado, 22, of New Bedford was shot in the stomach by Robida as he exited the mensroom.  Luis Rosado remains hospitalized in serious condition with a shattered liver.

Robert Perry, 52, of Dartmouth who came to the aid of victim, Alex Taylor, received lacerations to the face from the hatchet as well as a bullet wound to his back which just missed his spinal column. Robert Perry thankfully was released but will carry the physical and emotional scars of Jacob Robida's horrific act of violence.

In response to the anticipated needs of these three individuals, KnowThyNeighbor.org has established the New Bedford Hate Crime Victims Fund and we are asking for your support. Your donation will help these victims with whatever they may need, be it medical bills, rehabilitation or everyday living expenses that cannot be met while they are hospitalized.

If you are a member of any minority which has suffered from a history of violence and discrimination, then you know that what happened that night to these three men could have just as easily happened to you.  We ask you not to forget the victims of the Puzzles Lounge Hate Crime. Please give and give generously. The eyes of the world will look upon how we come to the aid of those in need.

Your charitable contributions are tax deductible.

Thank you,

Tom Lang & Aaron Toleos, Directors
KnowThyNeighbor.org
(978) 335-0477, info@knowthyneighbor.org

UPDATE 3/7/06: A seven member volunteer committee has been organized in New Bedford to collect and manage contributions for the hate crime victims. 

All contributions should now be made to the New Bedford Victims of Hate Crimes - Victims Fund.  Read more and find out how to donate at the Puzzles Lounge website.

Robida captured in shootout; Two dead.

Jacob Robida, suspect in the gun-and-hatchet attack at a New Bedford gay bar, has been apprehended in Arkansas after a shootout that left a police officer and a female passenger in Robida's car dead.  Robida has been hospitalized after being shot twice in the head.

From the AP:

"A police officer from the northern Arkansas town of Gassville was shot as he attempted to apprehend Jacob D. Robida, according to state police spokesman Bill Sadler.

The teen sped away and exchanged gunfire with police in nearby Norfolk, where the 18-year-old was wounded and a female passenger was killed, Sadler said."

Read more here.

UPDATE: Robida pronounced dead at 3:38 a.m. Sunday at Cox-South Hospital in Springfield, Mo.

Aaron Toleos, Director

Appeal to Governor

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Thomas Lang, Director
Portable: 978-335-0477

KnowThyNeighbor.org Calls on Governor Romney to Issue Immediate Statement on the Anti-Gay Hate Crime in New Bedford

Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA  February 3, 2006 -- Tom Lang, Director of the citizen watchdog group, KnowThyNeighbor.org issued a letter to Governor Romney's Press Secretary calling for an immediate statement regarding the tragic hate crime allegedly perpetrated by Jacob Robida, 18, against three gay men in New Bedford late Wednesday/early Thursday.

The KnowThyNeighbor.org letter to Julie Teer, the Governor's Press Secretary, states, " I find the lack of timeliness by Governor Romney in addressing the victims and their families, the gay community and the town of New Bedford shameful and ask for an immediate response from his office."

Lang also gives both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor permission to use the widely viewed KnowThyNeighbor.org website as a means to address the communities involved.  KnowThyNeighbor is known for its move to post the names and addresses of the 140,000 people who signed the anti-gay marriage petition last Fall as a means to check for fraud and open the dialogue on the subject of Equal Rights for gays and lesbians.

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Read the KnowThyNeighbor.org Letter to Governor Romney's Office

UPDATE: From a Saturday, Feb 4 Boston Herald article:

Meanwhile, gay activist Thomas Lang, who has published the names of anti-gay marriage petitioners on the Internet, blasted Gov. Mitt Romney and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey for not issuing a statement on the crime.

He called the alleged delay “shameful.”

Romney’s press office e-mailed a statement to the Herald after a call yesterday but referred questions about when the statement was made to Romney communications director Eric Fehrnstrom, who didn’t return a call for comment.

Romney’s statement said: “All acts of violence are deplorable, particularly if they are motivated by hatred or bigotry. My hope is the perpetrator responsible for this heinous crime in New Bedford is held accountable for his actions.”

New Bedford Attack

Click here for New Bedford Hate Crime Victims Fund Information

 

Last night in New Bedford, a man walked into a gay bar and began attacking patrons with a gun and a hatchet.  One person suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, another had a gunshot wound to the back and severe cuts to his face, and a third received multiple cuts. The attacker, identified by police as 18 year old Jacob Robida (see photo), then fled the scene.

The directors of KnowThyNeighbor.org wish to extend our most sincere sympathies to the victims of this terrible crime as well as to their spouses, families, and friends.

He is still at large so please take note of this description below and the photo on the right:

Police described him as 5-foot-6, weighing about 200 pounds, with dark hair. He was last seen driving a green 1999 Pontiac Grand Am with Massachusetts plates 85E-C58.

Watch the NECN video here.

Read the Globe story here.

View Jacob Robida's MySpace page here.

The photo on the right of Robida with the gun was taken from his MySpace page.

Tom Lang & Aaron Toleos, Directors
Contact: (978) 335-0477, info@knowthyneighbor.org