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BETHALTO 鈥� 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鈥檚 mom said Saturday.

鈥淭he man never stopped attacking Winston,鈥� Karen Mack said. 鈥淗e maintained his speed and intensity. Winston screamed for help, feeling like he was going to pass out.鈥�

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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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.

鈥淭he man that tried to kill my son, for no reason other than hate, should be charged with the crimes he committed,鈥� Mack鈥檚 post reads.

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

鈥淭he brutal nature of the attack left Winston with life-threatening injuries,鈥� the reads, 鈥渁nd this kind of hatred cannot be tolerated.鈥�

Mack told the Post-Dispatch on Saturday that although she had spoken with the State鈥檚 Attorney鈥檚 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鈥檛 Rulo鈥檚, police said. The department didn鈥檛 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鈥檚 on a diet of pureed food due to his fractured jaw, Mack said, but his brain bleed remains stable.

鈥淗e鈥檚 got a long road ahead of of him to restore his sense of security and mental peace,鈥� she said.

The court has ordered Morrison evaluated for his mental fitness.

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