Gay Woman Sustains 'Circular' Hole In Head Following Possible Hate Crime Attack, Police Say

police line — A drill attack left a woman severely injured with a hole in her head. Police tape is pictured near a crime scene on Mar. 23, 2004 in Withington, England. Graeme Robertson/Getty Images

A woman in Northern Ireland sustained a deep wound to her head and was left unconscious early Saturday morning after she was allegedly attacked by a 17-year-old male with a power tool. Police have called the incident a hate crime.

Brenda McLaughlin, 38, told authorities she believes that the person confronted her because she is gay. The incident took place outside of Ruby's nightclub in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

Authorities recovered a power drill at the scene and checked nearby security camera footage, which showed there was no indication that a drill bit was attached to the tool, an officer from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) detective told Omagh Magistrates’ Court on Monday, according to Belfast Telegraph.

A 17 year old male has been charged with GBH with intent, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and theft of a drill. It follows an attack on a woman in Strabane during the early hours of Saturday morning. The teenager is due to appear in Court in Omagh on Monday.
— PSNI (@PoliceServiceNI) May 6, 2018

McLaughlin claimed that the teenager confronted her with a drill and stated that she could not clearly see the tool at the time.

"It is my understanding that the victim has since told medical staff that she heard the noise of the drill and felt her head being twisted," the detective said. "The victim said she believed it was in relation to her homosexuality."

Police found McLaughlin lying on the ground bleeding from her head, having seizures and drifting in and out of consciousness, Sky News reported.

McLaughlin was rushed to Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry where her condition improved from life-threatening to stable as of Tuesday.

"There does appear to be some sort of hole in the skull but I cannot say how severe it is," the detective said, adding that the woman had not suffered brain damage, however, there was a "circular" hole in her scalp that "did not appear to be deep."

Surveillance video from outside of the nightclub showed the suspect "playing with the drill as if it is a gun," police said.

District Judge Peter King called the attack a "grossly violent, inexplicably violent incident." The assailant, however, claimed that he had homosexual relatives and that he wasn’t a bigot, the teen’s attorney Ciaran McGuinness said.

King ordered the boy be kept in police custody because, in the judge's words, the teen was a risk to the public. The suspect is set to appear via video link at Strabane Magistrates’ Court on May 18.