A gay man was shot to death in New York City Friday night in what police are calling a hate crime. The victim, Mark Carson, was with a male companion when the suspect accosted him and followed him for several blocks. The suspect, Elliot Morales, confronted Carson and his male companion with an anti-gay remark before opening fire. Police arrested Morales after he fled the scene. Carson was 32 years old and worked in a midtown yogurt shop. A friend described him as a “proud gay man … who didn’t have a negative bone in his body.” The shooting occurred just blocks from the Stonewall Inn, the West Village landmark that launched the modern gay and lesbian rights movement after a 1969 police raid.