Gay couple allegedly attacked by homeless man near downtown Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – One couple says they don’t plan on visiting Albuquerque again after a man allegedly attacked them, and chased the family through downtown. 

Michael Drennan and his husband, Matthew Kisner, say not only were they attacked by a homeless man during a visit, but they were repeatedly called a homophobic slur as they tried to escape. 

“The idea was to have a nice Father’s Day outing with one of my daughters and my husband. Because there’s two fathers in our family, it’s kind of a big day for us,” Drennan said. 

While visiting family in Santa Fe, Drennan, Kisner, and their daughter decided to take the Rail Runner to Albuquerque for the day and check out the Rail Yards Market. But they didn’t make it far off the train before they had to call 911. 

“This homeless guy like attacked us. He hit us with a pole. He’s following us. He’s aggressive. He’s cursing, he’s screaming, my daughter’s scared,” Kisner told dispatch on June 18, 2023. 

Police say 26-year-old Jordan Salazar followed the couple from the train station. He then allegedly hit one of the men in the head with a metal broom stick and verbally attacked them.  

“My husband who’s on the phone talking to the police, or the 911 dispatcher is kind of relaying to them the things that he’s saying. And at that point, my husband saying, you know, he’s calling us f****, you know, he wants to try and figure out why two men are with my daughter,” Drennan said. 

Shortly after police arrived, they cuffed and questioned Salazar. It was clear this wasn’t his first run in with officers. 

“Jordan what’s going on bro?” one officer said to Salazar as he was handcuffed on the curb. 

“You know Jordan?” another officer asked. 

“Ya I 16’d him last week,” said the officer.  

While Drennan and Kisner were explaining what happened to police, they asked police if this would be investigated as a hate crime. 

“I feel like if the definition of a hate crime was motivated by anti-gay bias, then yes, I feel like this was a hate crime,” Kisner told officers after the attack. 

KOB 4 asked the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office for an update on this case since it happened back in June. We also wanted to know if prosecutors would pursue a hate crime charge. 

A spokesperson told us this case is on hold for the moment because Salazar’s defense attorney is questioning his competency. He will have to be evaluated before they can move forward.