A 39-year-old man suffered severe injuries, including a brain bleed and skull fractures, after being attacked by a stranger in Barry, Wales, in what he believes may have been a hate crime.
Kaspian Oaken was walking along Court Road at around 6 p.m. on February 1 when a man in a grey hooded tracksuit approached him without warning and began punching him repeatedly.
“I was just walking, minding my own business, keeping my head down,” Kaspian recalled. “He just comes up to me and starts hitting me in the face. After a few punches, I fell to the ground, and he ran off.”
The attack left Kaspian with a brain bleed, skull fractures, a damaged eye socket, and severe facial swelling. He managed to walk a short distance before collapsing. Two strangers drove him home, but after losing mobility in his legs, he called emergency services and was taken to the hospital.
“My right eye is very damaged… [My face is] double its usual size. If the injuries were worse, it could’ve been life-threatening,” he said, adding that doctors had to monitor his cognitive function due to the brain injury.
Kaspian suspects the assault may have been motivated by the rainbow Pride-themed Apple Watch strap he was wearing, though he remains uncertain as it was dark at the time.
Beyond his physical injuries, he says the attack has left lasting psychological scars. “I flinch whenever I see someone in a grey tracksuit,” he admitted. “It’s not just scary for me. If they could do it to me and get away with it, then other people could be victims in the future.”
South Wales Police have confirmed they are investigating the assault and have described the suspect as a 6ft 1in white male wearing a full grey tracksuit with a hood.