from the Raleigh News & Observer

Derek Evans, an 18-year-old student at Shaw University, was admitted to Columbia Raleigh Community Hospital early Sunday morning for injuries sustained during an assault. He is in critical condition with severe brain swelling.

Evans was found unconscious in an alley outside of Legends, a Raleigh nightclub frequented by gay and transsexual men. According to police reports, his injuries indicate that he was severely beaten about the head, face, and neck. No suspect has as of yet been identified, but early analyses suggest multiple assailants.

Shaw University, the oldest African American institute of higher learning in the South, is closely affiliated with the Baptist church. According to Evans’ roommate, 18-year-old freshman Jevon Johnson, Evans has few friends on campus. “He was probably lonely,” Johnson said. “There isn’t much for people like him on campus, so he might have gone out looking for company.”

Evans is an openly bisexual nova with the ability to mimic the powers of other novas, and is known in nova circles as “Copykat.” Police speculate that these factors may have motivated his attackers. Alcohol was found in Evans’ bloodstream, and a fake driver’s license was also discovered in his wallet, police said.

The Queer Nova Alliance (an organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered novas to which Evans claims affiliation) issued the following brief statement through spokesperson Robert “Rainbow” Rodi: “We are all deeply saddened and troubled by this attack against one of our own. No one should have to worry that they will be targeted for violence merely for the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, or their status as novas. We will use every resource at our disposal to aid in Derek’s recovery and see to it that whomever did this will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”