Egyptian migrant beaten by Pride Parade attendees thought he was going to die

The victim of a beating at the hands of Pride Parade attendees in New York City's Washington Square Park this weekend told the media that he thought he'd die that night.

65-year-old Egyptian immigrant Nader Hassaneen came out of retirement from being a street vendor back on Sunday, to help a friend of his son. The food cart worker was severely beaten at some time before 11 pm Sunday evening, on the grounds of an accusation by a "Pride Parade" crowd that he made a hateful slur, according to  the New York Post.

"I would never do that. I don't have a problem with them, I know it was their parade. It was their day. They came out to have fun and enjoy themselves," Hassaneen said.

Hassaneen explained to the Post that what happened that night was that a woman yanked an American flag off of his cart and demanded a Pride flag be flown instead. He told the woman not to do that to his cart. His friend said the same.

The woman seemingly didn’t like the response, and assaulted the food vendor, throwing hot sauce at him, and then becoming more violent. It left Nader with blood on his face, a damaged lip, and cuts on his head.

"I have a broken nose. They say I might need surgery," Hassaneen said. "When I saw the blood in my cap and I was bleeding from my nose, I thought I was going to bleed to death."

The Egyptian immigrant said he was "scared" that so many people were "coming" at him all at once.

While eight people were arrested for their behaviors that night with regards to police-related obstructions, the Post says nobody as of yet has been arrested for the assault against the food vendor.