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BETHALTO — A 22-year-old nursing student is home from the hospital after being severely beaten in what his family called a hate crime.

Winston Rulo was almost beaten to death after a man yelled homophobic slurs at him, Rulo’s mom said Saturday.

“The man never stopped attacking Winston,” Karen Mack said. “He maintained his speed and intensity. Winston screamed for help, feeling like he was going to pass out.”

Bethalto police said they responded around 10:40 a.m. last Saturday to the 300 block of Grant Street in Bethalto, a village in Madison County east of Alton. They had received several calls reporting a man breaking the windows of a vehicle and then setting it on fire at an apartment complex.

At the scene, police observed a red pickup truck on fire with several small explosions coming from the truck, according to a news release by the police . Police tended to the fire while a man, later identified as 35-year-old Joshua J. Morrison, entered the apartment complex.

Police then saw Rulo exit the building with serious injuries. Rulo was treated at the scene and transported to the hospital.

Officers entered the apartment complex and found broken glass, blood and debris. Police said they located Morrison in the building and he refused to surrender. A tactical team eventually broke down a door in the complex and took Morrison into custody.

Morrison is being charged with felony counts of arson and battery.

According to two GoFundMe set up by Rulo’s family and friends, Rulo suffered a brain bleed, facial fractures, an open skull fracture and other injuries from the attack.

Family members said Rulo is a nursing student at Lewis and Clark Community College. Mack, Rulo’s mother, said in a Tuesday social media post that Rulo is an openly gay man and before attacking Rulo, Morrison yelled homophobic slurs at him.

“The man that tried to kill my son, for no reason other than hate, should be charged with the crimes he committed,” Mack’s post reads.

Mack has started a petition urging authorities to pursue charges of hate crime and attempted murder.

“The brutal nature of the attack left Winston with life-threatening injuries,” the reads, “and this kind of hatred cannot be tolerated.”

Mack told the Post-Dispatch on Saturday that although she had spoken with the State’s Attorney’s office, the charges against Morrison have not changed.

Mack said Rulo only got away from Morrison because he was able to knock him off balance enough to get the door open and run toward the firefighters battling the truck fire outside.

The truck wasn’t Rulo’s, police said. The department didn’t explain the connection between the truck and the attack.

She said Rulo remains bruised and sore but is getting stronger everyday. His vision remains blurry, he has headaches and he’s on a diet of pureed food due to his fractured jaw, Mack said, but his brain bleed remains stable.

“He’s got a long road ahead of of him to restore his sense of security and mental peace,” she said.

The court has ordered Morrison evaluated for his mental fitness.

Brian Brueggemann, spokesman for the Madison County State’s Attorney’s office, said he could not immediately comment on the charges.