NORTH CAROLINA: Gay Man In Critical After Bar Hook-Up Sets Him On Fire

Matt Comer reports at Q Notes:

A suspect is being held by police after an aggravated assault in the early morning hours of Nov. 9 in a downtown hotel. Police say the suspect intended to kill a man he met at a local gay bar. The victim, Stephen Patrick White, 46, of Greensboro, is in critical condition at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. He has reportedly suffered burns over 52 percent of his body after the suspect, Garry Joseph Gupton, 26, of Greensboro, attacked White and set him on fire. Greensboro police say an employee at the Battleground Inn at 1517 Westover Terrace called 911 after hearing a man screaming at the hotel at the same time a fire alarm was activated. Police and firefighters responded to the hotel at about 4:30 a.m. Gupton is being held under $150,000 secured bond and is charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill.

Chemistry, the nightclub where the pair met, is holding a fundraiser for the victim on Saturday. Donations can also be made online.