ST. LOUIS — A 32-year-old man has been sentenced in connection with an attempted assault on patrons of an LGBTQ community bar in St. Louis.
Freddie Doyle was sentenced to 46 months in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm.
Doyle previously pleaded guilty and admitted that on June 27, 2019, he drove to Rehab Bar and Grill with a Bushmaster Firearms AR-15 style automatic rifle, bipod, scope, tactical light, four full rifle magazines, and approximately 160 rifle rounds in his vehicle.
Doyle stayed at the bar for a number of hours until the bar closed at 3 a.m. Shortly after, he approached a man who left Rehab Bar and Grill and invited him back to his car. Doyle then got the gun from his car and immediately aimed it at the man.
Doyle then chased the man as he ran away, told a bystander that he wanted to “get” the man, yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him, and fired his rifle once above the man’s head. When the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department apprehended Doyle and placed him into custody, Doyle continued to yell slurs at the man.
Police previously said security video showed Doyle pointing the gun at the people before shooting into the air. It also showed him dropping the gun near a different car.
“All people in this nation have the right to enjoy themselves at a bar and grill without fearing that they will be threatened, shot, and seriously injured or killed by bigoted criminals,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate this kind of hateful violence. The Civil Rights Division strives to protect all Americans from acts of aggression and violence based on their race, color or sexual orientation.”