A Melbourne man has described the terrifying moment he was slashed with a machete and hit with homophobic slurs while on a walk with his partner.
Frank Bonnici was on a stroll over the Darebin Creek footbridge in Preston with partner Mykey O’Halloran on Saturday night when four young people approached them and started to yell slurs.
“The kept yelling homophobic stuff to us, so then I yelled back ‘Yeah we’re gay, what are you going to do about it? What’s it to you’,” Bonnici said.
One of the offenders swung at the 47-year-old with a machete, whole another took his phone.
The yoga teacher and support worker was rushed to the Austin Hospital where he had plastic surgery on the laceration to his arm.
“He could’ve just sliced my chest, sliced my head and I would be dead on the ground,” Bonnici said.
“Now I have to give up all my work and I’m losing so much income.
“I’m trying to buy a studio to set myself up and we’re trying to buy a house as well.”
Despite preparing to undertake six weeks of rehab, Bonnici’s surgeon is unsure he’ll ever regain full use of his arm.
“My life is completely f—-d now. And they get to get away with it with a minimal sentence if they get caught because they’re not 18 years old,” Bonnici said.
O’Halloran said he doesn’t feel safe returning to the area.
“My gut just dropped… It is unimaginable what happened,” he said.
“It’s trauma that I’ve experienced before, homophobia, but never to this level like with this sort of physical violence.”
All four young people ran away with the man’s mobile phone.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 33 000.
