Larry Walraven, a 75-year-old Las Vegas resident, allegedly aimed a gun at his gay male neighbors and made a hateful statement. He then allegedly threatened to harm them and shot the gun four times — none of the shots hit the men.
One of the men dialed 911 to report the supposed attack. When questioned by police, Walraven claimed he was unaware of what happened and insisted he was home taking care of his mother all night. KLAS-TV reported.
Police identified the weapon as a BB gun — BB guns kill an average of four people a year. Walraven was arrested by the police and charged with assault with a deadly weapon as a hate crime. This charge can lead to a maximum of six years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines. The hate crime enhancement could add up to 20 years in prison. Due to Walraven's repeat offender status, a judge opted to keep him in police custody without bail.
While it's unclear what Walraven's sexual orientation is, heterosexual individuals are more likely to have firearms at home compared to gay and bisexual people, according to the Williams Institute. While 19% of LGB adults have a gun at home, 35% of heterosexuals have a gun at home.
Guns are used in nearly 60% of bias-motivated homicides against LGBTQ+ people, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects. LGBTQ+ individuals are more than twice as likely to be victims of gun violence than their cisgender and straight peers, according to the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. LGBTQ+ individuals also experience person-based violence at higher rates than victims of religiously or racially motivated crimes, according to the Williams Institute.
The number of hate crimes against sexual orientation in Nevada has fluctuated over the last three years for which data is available, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. While 14 anti-LGB hate crimes were reported in 2020, 30 were reported in 2021, and 18 were reported in 2022.
