COLUMBUS (WCMH) – A couple attacked in the Short North over the weekend said they believe they were targeted because of their sexual orientation.

Just after 2 a.m. Saturday, Bryson Beier and Mantej Sandhu were walking from a bar in the Short North toward the Hubbard Garage. The couple, who moved here from California two weeks ago, said they were attacked at the intersection of E. Hubbard Avenue and N. Pearl Street. According to the report, the couple said their attackers were eight men who jumped out of two cars, calling them gay slurs and physically attacking them.

The pair made a frantic 911 call, telling the call-taker they were “just jumped and robbed” and that Sandhu’s phone was stolen.

“I’m bleeding out of my eyes, out of my lips,” the man said. “My friend is bleeding all over his face. We were just walking home.”

During the call, a woman got on the line and told the call-taker, “They’re in the garage right now and one of the gentlemen is bleeding profusely from his face.”

After the attack and other recent harassment and violence in Ohio, the Buckeye Region Anti-violence Organization, or BRAVO, put out an alert, notifying those in the LGBT community to be aware of what was going on.

“It’s disheartening, even devastating in a way, to know that there’s still so much hatred out there and that that hatred right now seems to be amplified,” said Aaron Eckhardt, associate director of BRAVO.

Eckhardt said BRAVO is there to help and wants members of the LGBT community to remain visible and vocal.

“We have to unite together,” Eckhardt said. “We have to understand that oppression and violence in all its forms is important to pay attention to, not just one group, not just one issue.”

The couple is recovering after being taken to Grant Medical Center, although neither Beier nor Sandhu wanted to speak on camera Wednesday. They told police they took a photo of the license plate of their attackers. Police are continuing to investigate.