Bloody attack on gay bar

An attack by a neo-Nazi teenager, accused of shooting two people and bludgeoning a third with a hatchet in a Massachusetts gay bar before fleeing, has stunned gays in the region and sparked fears that the assailant could strike again.

A manhunt was under way yesterday for an 18-year-old whom police say walked into Puzzles Lounge in the city of New Bedford late on Wednesday, ordered two drinks and then went on a rampage after asking a bartender "is this a gay bar?"

Jacob Robida faces about a dozen charges, including three counts of attempted murder and civil rights violations for the attack that left three men seriously wounded, police said.

"It's a vicious and ugly reminder of anti-gay prejudice," David Smith, head of policy and strategy at the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights group, said. "What is unique about hate crimes is that they terrorise the whole community."

When told he was in a gay bar, Mr Robida walked into a back area where several men played pool, reached into his coat and pulled out a hatchet, police said.

He lunged at several men, striking two in the face with the hatchet before several of the bar's 18 patrons attempted to restrain him. He then drew a gun and began firing in the pink-walled venue, according to police and witnesses.

About 150 people, including New Bedford's mayor and several of the city's politicians, held a candlelight vigil late on Thursday on the street outside of the bar about 93 kilometres south of Boston, the state's capital.

"We think he could strike again. We don't know what he will do, especially if he gets desperate," Paul Walsh, Bristol Dist. Attorney, said. "He's armed and extremely dangerous. We also cannot rule out that he could be suicidal."

Police across the Northeast US coast are on alert for Mr Robida, who was last seen by his mother when he returned home early on Thursday bleeding from a head wound and then leaving his house in a green Pontiac car, Dr Walsh said.

A search of Mr Robida's bedroom turned up neo-Nazi literature and posters slurring gays, Jews and African-Americans, Dr Walsh said. He also appears on a website posing with Nazi flags.

"I've had friends jumped before, but it wasn't with weapons and nothing on this scale," said Jeffrey Robbins, 33, a gay resident of New Bedford. He said his friends were concerned for their safety and feared a copycat attack.

"We're all just going to be more observant, walking each other to our cars with keys in our hands if we have to defend ourselves," he said.

Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, called on Washington to pass a bill that would extend the federal law on hate crimes to cover offences targeting people because of sexual orientation.

Massachusetts has hate crime laws that cover sexual orientation but 29 states do not.

"This tragic incident underlines the problem of anti-gay violence in this country," Mr Frank, who is gay and whose district includes New Bedford, said in a statement. "I will continue to press for amendments to existing federal hate crimes laws to cover this sort of horrible crime."

The crime stunned residents in the blue-collar city.