Teen beaten to death by party crashers

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NEW YORK, March 15 (UPI) -- A New York teenager was beaten to death at a birthday party in Queens by party crashers shouting anti-gay slurs, witnesses said.

Anthony Collao, 18, died Monday at Jamaica Hospital, the New York Daily News reported.

Friends said it was not clear why Collao, a recent high school graduate, was targeted in the Saturday night attack.

He had a girlfriend and was not gay, friends said, although the party was put on by two openly gay men.

Police said four suspects were arrested shortly after the attack.

They were identified as Alex Velez, 16, of the Bronx borough, and Nolis Ogando, Christopher Lozada and Luis Tabales, all 17, from the Queens borough.

Lozada was wearing Collao's Atlanta Braves baseball cap and the others were covered in blood when arrested, sources said.

They suspects came uninvited to the party, advertised on Facebook, and refused to pay a $7 cover charge, witnesses said.

They reportedly stormed the home, breaking windows and picking fights.

They flashed gang signs and yelled anti-gay slurs, the two party hosts said.

Collao, sensing trouble, left with a friend but was chased by the suspects, and kicked and punched, the Daily News reported.