Government officials on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia have issued a written apology to three gay American tourists -- two from Atlanta -- who were beaten during a robbery earlier this month.
A statement from the three men indicated that the attackers may have known one of the victims.
Gunmen allegedly made anti-gay slurs against Michael Baker of Atlanta, his boyfriend Nick Smith of South Carolina and Todd Wiggins, a former Atlantan who was living in St. Lucia, during a March 2 robbery at their rental vacation cabin in Soufriere.
Baker said the armed bandits beat all three and tied them up.
“Minister for Tourism Sen. the Hon. Allan Chasnetet said the attack on the visitors appeared to be perpetrated by individuals whose views do not reflect sentiments of the majority of law-abiding citizens,” St. Lucia officials said in a statement posted on the government’s website.
“Whether or not this crime was motivated by anti-gay sentiment, or during the course of a robbery, it is nonetheless unacceptable behavior and St. Lucia as a destination will not tolerate it,” the statement continued. “Law enforcement authorities are pursuing this matter relentlessly.”
Police announced Monday they had arrested two suspects in the assault and were looking for three others.
The former British territory is not known as a risky place for gays, particularly compared with other, socially conservative Caribbean islands where many gays are not open about their sexuality.
In a statement released by the victims on Tuesday and posted on www.thegavoice.com, Wiggins, Baker and Smith said, “we have not speculated on the motive of the crime, but strong anti-gay, anti-white and anti-American language was used repeatedly during the crime. The attackers asserted that if we confirmed we were gay, they would kill us.”
Wiggins and his partner, Tom Richman, had rented the cabin since November 2010 and were known in the local community, the statement said. Richman was in the U.S. on a business trip at the time of the attack.
"Based on statements made by the attackers, we believe that some of the intruders knew [Wiggins]," the statement said.
The victims said in the statement that while St. Lucia police reported that the value of items stolen totaled $1,800, the masked bandits actually took a camera, two laptop computers, a watch and several thousand dollars, with a total value of over $10,000.
They said their attackers “alleged that they had friends within the police department, would know if we reported the crime and would kill us if we did so.”
According to the statement from the victims, Baker and Wiggins were treated for head lacerations and received stitches the night of the attack, and Baker was diagnosed with a concussion during a follow-up examination in Atlanta.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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