Gay couple say they were stabbed for holding hands in Denver

A young gay couple were stabbed leaving a Denver nightclub early Sunday morning by a slur-spewing maniac they say took issue with their hand-holding.

Christopher Huizar, 19, and boyfriend Gabriel Roman, 23, were heading home holding hands after a night out at the Church nightclub when a white male declared the men "f--king f----ts" and pulled out a knife, Huizar wrote on a GoFundMe page.

The teen was stabbed in the neck, while his boyfriend was knifed in the hand and back, earning him a total of 82 stitches, according to the Gay Star News.

"We're running and I didn't realize how bad it was until (Roman) was like, 'My hand!' and that's when I took my shirt off and I wrapped it around and there was blood everywhere, like so much blood," Huizar told local Fox affiliate KDVR. "I'm thinking like, 'My boyfriend is going to die.'"

They told the outlet they bolted from the scene before collapsing in a 7/11 parking lot, where bystanders phoned 911.

The Denver Police Department said Tuesday it had arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with the stabbing, which is under investigation as a possible hate crime.

Roman said that while the attack cut deeper than just his wounds, it hasn't affected his bond with Huizar, with whom he'll celebrate his first anniversary Wednesday.

"We're relieved this guy is caught or whatever, but there's still that fright, I guess you could say, to who else is out there like that?" he said. "It's not going to stop me from being who I am or showing affection to my significant other but I will definitely be more cautious."

A GoFundMe page launched Monday by Huizar to help cover his and Roman's medical bills has raised more than $7,500.