Annie Tritt

A second victim of an alleged gay bashing in Oakland spoke out Friday, after a man claiming to be a witness to the assault challenged a published account of the incident.

The challenge led to a heated exchange between the man and the two victims in the comment section of The Bay Citizen.

Adel Castellon said that he was "trying to stay positive" after learning that his face was broken in five different places -- from the bottom of his eye to his jaw -- in the attack. 

Castellon said he and his bandmate, Brontez Purnell, were unlocking their bikes outside Club Paradiso Wednesday night, when two men leaving the club made homophobic remarks to them. According to Castellon, the verbal exchange turned violent during the course of the 15-minute encounter, and he suffered the worst injuries.

On Thursday, The Bay Citizen reported Purnell's version of the events. According to Purnell, the two attackers said, "You're in the wrong club" and "If you were in Jamaica you'd be dead by now." Purnell said that when he confronted the two men, they punched him and Castellon.

After The Bay Citizen published Purnell's account, Kevin Bynes, who described himself as a witness, offered a different account of the incident and criticized Purne.

"The so called victim rode around on his bike yelling at the two guys in the black SUV repeatedly and it wasn't until the so-called victim spit on the driver and tried to break his window with his bike lock that the two accused 'gay bashers' reacted by chasing the guy away," Bynes wrote in the comment section of The Bay Citizen. "This man TOTALLY provoked this situation and initiated the violence."

"That was NOT a gay bashing, and I think it is dangerous for us to suggest that every time a gay person gets into a fight its a gay bashing," he wrote.

Bynes said he witnessed the incident from across the street, and affirmed Castellon's statements that Castellon had been trying to pull Purnell and one of the men apart, when Castellon was punched in the face.

Bynes, who identified himself as a gay activist, did not respond to calls for comment -- and the Oakland Police Department did not respond to repeated calls and emails about the incident.

Purnell replied to Bynes online. "If your such a sensible homosexual, why didnt you HELP US?," he asked. "WE WERE THE VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE, verbal and otherwise. I threw my bike lock AFTER they punched me and Adal." Purnell said that he used the lock "to pause them long enough to get their plate number."

Castellon also responded to Bynes in the comment section, defending Purnell and insisting that the two attackers used "homophobic comments" before the assault.

Castellon explained that he decided to give an interview to The Bay Citizen after he read Bynes' remarks. "What I want to be clear about is that they initiated contact between our two parties," Castellon said.