Police have arrested a man accused of repeatedly throwing bricks through the window of a Manhattan gay bar.
Sean Kuilan, a 34-year-old Hell’s Kitchen resident, was taken into custody Tuesday on charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon. Police said that Kuilan threw a brick or a rock at the window of VERS, a gay bar on Ninth Avenue, on three separate occasions since last Sunday.
The NYPD said they think Kuilan was “extracting revenge” on a single person who works at VERS. He allegedly told police that he knows a girl who had an issue with one of the bar’s employees. The Manhattan district attorney’s office did not provide any further information about a potential motive. Prosecutors also did not say whether they were still considering hate crime charges.
The most recent attack came around 10 p.m. on Saturday. Security footage showed an individual approaching the bar, throwing what the NYPD said was a heavy rock in full view of several pedestrians, then casually walking off.
The window of VERS after the first time it was hit with a brick.
David DeParolesa, the owner of VERS, said at first he believed his bar may have been targeted by an anti-gay perpetrator. But he told Gothamist on Sunday that police were “dismissive” of the suggestion – urging him against reporting it as a hate crime.
DeParolesa posted a statement on Instagram in the aftermath of Tuesday's arrest.
"As members of the LGBTQ community, we often have to create our own safe spaces; that’s why we created VERS, and why we remain open for business as usual,” the statement said. “We have, and always will be, undeterred and unflinchingly focused on providing our patrons, our peers and our community at large with a fun, welcoming safe space."
Kuilan had not been arraigned as of Wednesday afternoon. Attempts to reach his attorney were not successful.
This story has been updated to reflect emerging details in the case.
