Roike and Hall.

Two men were attacked over the weekend in Eckington, and D.C. police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.

According to friends, Michael Joel Hall and Michael Roike were attacked by three young men around 2 a.m. Sunday morning near their home at 3rd and T Streets NE. According to police, the three suspects “began to yell homophobic slurs at them” before the attack. Roike screamed for help and ran, but Hall had already been badly injured, suffering a broken jaw that required surgery.

Hall, who is a yoga instructor, has no health insurance, so friends have planned an event at Meridian Hill Park next week to support him and have set up a PayPal page to collect donations for use towards his medical care. (His apartment was also recently destroyed by a fire.)

Hate crimes targeting LGBT residents have increased in the last year—35 of 57 hate crimes recorded in D.C. in 2010 targeted them. In March hundreds of residents and silently marched from Columbia Heights to Georgia Avenue to raise awareness of the issue.