Update: The Seattle Police Department's bulletin included an incorrect day of the incident. It happened on Tuesday night, into early Wednesday morning, not on Wednesday night. This story has been updated accordingly. 

Seattle Police say they’re investigating a hate crime outside Pony, a gay bar in Capitol Hill.

Police say that around 11:30 pm Tuesday, three men witnesses described as “frat bros” circled the block in a dark blue Lexus IS 300 sedan with tinted windows, shouting “f****ts,” “tr***y,” “die f****ts,” and that they “hate f****ts” at people outside the bar.

Carrie-Ann, who works security at Pony, said you could hear the muffler before you could see the Lexus. The men just yelled on their first pass. From the second pass on, they hung out the windows and took video, she said. The driver and passenger handed what, according to the Seattle Police Department, appeared to be a gel blaster back and forth between them, a battery-powered toy a bit like an airsoft gun that shoots water-filled beads and can bruise or cut at close range.

Carrie-Ann called 9-1-1 after the men walked up to the bar to harass people face to face, worried they may have some other weapon, or that things could escalate more than they already had. The men fled when staff confronted them, but came back for another two or three laps while she was on the phone.

Carrie-Ann wasn’t hit by the pellets, but said several others were. Police interviewed at least one woman the men shot with the toy gun. The pellet didn’t hit “very hard,” and bounced off her jacket without leaving a mark on her skin, she told them. After police talked to the patrons around 1 am Wednesday morning, they say they warned other gay businesses in the area about the men, including the nightclubs Massive and Neighbours.

A patron snapped photos and shot video as the men drove past. Seattle Police Department Bias Crimes Detective Jillian Williamson says they caught the license plate. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime, a felony in Washington State.

District 3 Seattle Council Member Joy Hollingsworth said in an email that her office will work with the Seattle Police Department, the GSBA, Capitol Hill businesses and the city’s LGBTQ+ commission to keep the community safe.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s Press Secretary Callie Craighead wrote in an email the office was proud of Seattle’s inclusive reputation, but recognized that even these incidents can happen “even in welcoming cities.”

“In his State of the City remarks, Mayor Harrell made it clear that Seattle values our LGBTQ+ community and their contributions, and we will stand up to protect them in the face of dangerous rhetoric and discriminatory actions from our federal government.”

Police are looking for others hit with pellets outside the bar. Anyone with information, photos or videos, can call the SPD Tip Line at (206) 233-5000, or email SPD_hatecrimes@seattle.gov, though the department may have trouble finding volunteers. Police are more likely to harass queer people, and as a result, queer people are less likely to call or trust police.

This is the second anti-gay incident the Seattle Police Department has investigated since the Presidential election. In the early morning of November 7, two brothers flying a Trump/Vance flag called a group of people “fags” from their Porsche Cayenne outside Dave’s Hot Chicken on 12th Ave. When one of the men on the street threw a drink into the car, one of the brothers hit another gay man in the group with a metal baseball bat, bruising his elbow and tricep. The man was assaulted on his way back to Pony, and reported seeing the car near the bar beforehand.

Detective Williamson says Seattle police have since identified the two suspects and filed charges in January. The King County Prosecutor’s Office is currently reviewing the charges, she says.