A man was left with a brain bl33d and fighting for his life after a stranger brutally assaulted him in Wales apparently, for wearing a rainbow watch strap.
Kaspian Oaken, 39, recalled walking down a residential road in Barry while listening to music when a man in a grey hooded tracksuit approached him.
He said the man started punching him without warning at about 6 pm on February 1.
The beating was so severe that Kaspian suffered a brain bl33d, skull fractures, a damaged eye socket and severe bruising that caused his face to double in size.
He was he was on his way to the shops along Court Road when the incident happened.
“It was very, very terrifying. There was that adrenaline burst and at the time you don’t realise quite what has happened. It was a shock” he said.
He added: “I was just walking minding my own business keeping my head down. He just comes up to me and starts hitting me in the face. After a few punches I just fell to the ground and he ran off.
“I managed to get up and then I was freaking out obviously because I was covered in blood.
“I carried on walking a little bit until my legs buckled and I just fell. I couldn’t move my legs for some reason. I just had to sit there.
“It’s a possibility [it was a hate crime] but it’s not like I was advertising it.
“I was dripping with blood but still thinking: ‘I need to carry on what I’m doing’.”
Kaspian believes that the LGBTQ+ Pride Apple Watch strap he was wearing was possibly why he was attacked. But given it was dark, he remained unsure.
According to Apple, the rainbow strap was designed to show “the strength and inclusivity of the LGBTQ+ community”.
Kaspian was driven home by two concerned strangers but collapsed, so phoned 999 and was taken to A&E.
He said: “My right eye is very, very damaged… It’s a lot of bruising. A lot of bumps from where the skull has been impacted. [My face is] double its usual size.
“If the injuries were worse it could’ve been life-threatening. It was very close to being more brain-damaged because of the brain bleed.
