"Pride celebrations offer people in our communities an opportunity to feel safe in expressing our authentic selves," Equality Michigan, an advocacy group that represents Michigan's LGBT and HIV communities, said in a statement viewed by the news station.

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"Unfortunately, this is a tragic reminder that we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that LGBT people can walk down the street without fear of violence."

With the unprovoked attack still fresh on his mind, Howard doesn't know if he will go to next year's pride event.

"Will I go back to Pride? I'm kind of iffy about it right now, because I don't want that incident to happen again. What if the same guys are there?"

Read more at WXYZ-Detroit.