Mark Carson is reported to have been walking with a friend when a man started following them, making anti-gay slurs. Elliott Morales is reported to have demanded to know if the men were gay, and, according to a Slate blog, asked the men if they wanted to die. A Daily Mail article describes Mark Carson as brave, because he did not deny he was gay. Mark Carson was shot in the head. The police are reported to be treating the murder as a hate crime.