“I’ll Petrol Bomb Your House”: A Shepparton Couple Speak Out After Homophobic Gang Attack

Earlier this year, David Tse and his husband, Rural Director of Medical Services Dr Ka Chun Tse, fled the Victorian regional city of Shepparton. Two years prior, their home was assaulted by a homophobic gang. After months of anti-LGBTQ+ backlash and a formal submission to a hate crimes inquiry, the Tses are once again speaking up.

After describing the attack on his home to AusDoc, David decided the assault wasn’t just a story about the plight of a hard-working rural doctor. It was a story about prejudice, anti-LGBTQ+ violence, and being attacked by the very community you yourself are trying to love. 

“Our stories get a lot of silence in the bush,” David wrote to the Star Observer. “I am hoping you can shine a light on the homophobia in rural areas.” 

According to David, the couple were preparing an early Christmas lunch for extended family visiting from Melbourne when the attack began. David alleges the Tse family called the police twice during the onslaught, which involved the attackers screaming “cocksuckers” and other homophobic slurs, violently wielding objects, and attempting to force entry into the home.

David says it took 45 minutes for Shepparton Police to arrive. No lights, no sirens, no nothing.

“During this time, we were barricading doors and collecting household items to use as shields and weapons as the attackers were kicking doors and throwing tree stakes at our house,” said David. “We were in fear of our lives if they gained entry.”

The attackers were automatically recorded by the Tse’s home security system, which captured extensive damage to their private property alongside shouts of vitriol and accusations of pedophilia. 

“Big lovely dint over there,” one attacker said to the group, “next time I’ll put his head through it.”

“I’ll come back here and petrol bomb your house,” screamed another.

According to David, despite the extensive CCTV footage capturing the incident, all the attackers went free.

Not Just Shepparton: Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate Speech Is Rife In Australia’s Regional Communities

For David, his family’s experience wasn’t simply a one-off case of police negligence, but instead points to a broader issue in Australia’s current zeitgeist . He pointed to the many hostilities regional LGBTQ+ people faced in response to Wear It Purple Day this year, which included a slew of online abuse hurled at drag performer Polly Filla after she performed at a school a mere two hours from David’s former Shepparton home.

“It seems that after many years of progress, homophobia and bigotry is on the rise again,” David told this masthead. “Our message to rainbow organisations is look to the past. Building connection through social events is important. So is activism.”

Now, David believes sharing his own experience might help bring about system reforms, so that future victims of LGBTQIA+ hate crime in regional areas may be better supported.

“Violence is the shadow of hate speech,” was David’s concluding remark.