Gay man’s killing in NYC leads to police increase

Pedestrians pass a makeshift memorial for 32-year-old Mark Carson, Monday, May 20, 2013, in New York. Police said Elliot Morales yelled anti-gay slurs before shooting Carson point-blank in the face in Greenwich Village, a neighborhood long known as a bedrock of the gay rights movement. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

NEW YORK— A number of anti-gay attacks in New York City is prompting police to increase their presence in some gay-friendly neighborhoods just before Gay Pride Month in June.

One man, Mark Carson, was shot dead Saturday in Greenwich Village, where the gay rights movement crystallized in the 1960s. Police say the gunman made homophobic remarks before shooting the man in the face.

The shooting stunned a city where same-sex couples now walk freely holding hands in many neighborhoods. It also comes at a time when the gay marriage movement is gaining momentum in many parts of the United States.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said Monday that the New York Police Department has pledged to station command vehicles in Greenwich Village, Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen through the end of June.