The family of a man who was beaten unconscious outside a West Hollywood nightclub is hoping to find the suspect that left Alberto Vasquez with life-threatening injuries.
The incident occurred on the evening of April 5. Family members say the 53-year-old was out celebrating in the vibrant Rainbow District of West Hollywood. Vasquez was at the Heart Weho nightclub. The victim left to meet friends nearby around 8 p.m. but never arrived.
A passerby found Vasquez lying unconscious in a parking lot next to the nightclub. Vasquez had suffered serious injuries as a result of the altercation, but no suspects have been identified.
Vasquez was in the hospital for five days before his family was able to locate him. A nurse at Cedars Sinai Medical Center answered a call to his cell phone from a family member and notified them of what had occurred.
Family and friends of Vasquez say he is a talented hairstylist who has worked with celebrity clients and has been flown to places like New York and Paris to fix the hair of his clients.
Now, Vasquez faces a long road to recovery after sustaining the life-threatening injuries. He underwent brain surgery for the injuries he suffered from the assault. Doctors had to remove a part of Vasquez’s skull due to the swelling in his brain.
“The punch to his face, you can tell it was on the eye,” Vasquez’s sister, Gloria Jimenez, told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe. “They fractured his skull around his eye socket.”
Vasquez’s family and friends say they’re still searching for answers as to why someone would do this to the 53-year-old, but his sister believes it was a hate crime.
“We feel it’s gay bashing,” Jimenez said. “He did not get robbed.”
No suspects have been identified and no information has been provided about a possible motive.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the West Hollywood Sherrif’s Station at 310-855-8850.