A teenager has been arrested after he allegedly broke into his neighbour’s house and attempted to murder him with a spanner, claiming that he had “no choice” because his victim was gay and therefore “evil”.

Ethan Dickerson, 19, of Decatur, a city in Macon County in the Midwestern US state of Illinois, was arrested on Thursday, 17th February.

He faces preliminary charges of attempted murder in the first degree, committing a hate crime, aggravated battery, aggravated unlawful restraint and home invasion. He is being held on a USD-1-million bond after he allegedly assaulted the victim with a “pipe wrench”, which is known as a spanner in British English.

A police affidavit quoting the suspect says that he told his victim, who asked him why he was attacking him: “You know why I have to do this… You’re gay… You’re evil… I’m going to kill you.”

The police were dispatched to the 1100 block of Delray Court at approximately 5.30pm the day of the alleged assault after receiving a report about a broken window.

Arriving officers noticed the broken window and could hear the victim’s voice from inside calling for help, according to the police affidavit.

The officer reportedly identified himself but heard nothing but screams and pleas for help, which led to him kicking down the front door.

The police officer, who has not been named, is quoted in the affidavit as saying that the suspect was found inside covered in blood and immediately surrendered.

The victim was found in the kitchen suffering from multiple injuries to his head. He was also covered in blood, as was the kitchen floor.

The police found the pipe wrench on the floor in the kitchen along with strands of duct tape that were covered in blood as well.

The victim, who has not been named, said he was in bed when he heard the sound of broken glass, so he got out of bed to investigate.

That is when he saw the suspect walking towards him.

The victim was then allegedly assaulted without a word before his hands and mouth were duct-taped.

Dickerson then allegedly took the victim to the kitchen, where he sat him in a chair and taped him down.

The accused then beat the victim repeatedly while also making it clear why he was inflicting the wounds on him.

At one point, the victim is said to have managed to break free and the pair allegedly fought before Dickerson managed to place the victim in a chokehold using the wrench.

The fight continued until the police kicked down the door, still according to the affidavit.

The victim was taken to hospital and was diagnosed with non-life-threatening injuries that nonetheless required numerous stitches.

The investigation is ongoing.