Fashion photographer blinded with gasoline in suspected hate crime

Tyler Maddick, a 20-year-old fashion photographer based in Wales, became the victim of a brutal hate crime that left him blind in one eye.

Maddick, who is gay, was walking home late Thursday night when a car pulled up beside him. He heard homophobic slurs moments before being covered in liquid.

He immediately ran home and washed out his eyes as he felt them burning. The next day, doctors at a local hospital told him he was blind in his left eye.

Several years ago, Maddick lost 90% of his vision in his left eye because of a bacterial infection. The recent attack took the rest of it.

He told WalesOnline he was completely shocked by the whole thing. "I think I was more angry than anything. I'm quite a strong-minded person and it wasn't so much that they had done it, it was the fact that they targeted me because if they can pick on me they can pick on anyone."

But he says it won't stop him from pursuing his passion as a photographer. Police have yet to find any witnesses as they investigate.

According to a study by a British LGBTQ rights group, 17% of LGBTQ citizens have fallen victim to perpetrators within the last three years and 20% of those victims are threatened with bodily harm.

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