Army veteran dies of injuries after hotel assault in N. Carolina

(Reuters) - An Army veteran injured and burned during an assault in a North Carolina hotel room a week ago died of his injuries on Saturday, authorities said. Stephen Patrick White, 46, of Greensboro, was assaulted on Nov. 9, Greensboro police said. He died in hospital on Saturday. Police and firefighters found White unconscious and burned in a hotel room after responding to a fire alarm and reports of a man screaming at the city's Battleground Inn. Police arrested the man who was screaming, identified as Garry Joseph Gupton, 26. Gupton was charged with assault with deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill. He was charged with first degree murder after White died, said Greensboro police public information officer Susan Danielsen. Friends said White was an Army veteran who was wounded while serving in Iraq, local media reported. Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan said in a statement on Thursday that the assault was not being considered an anti-gay hate crime. Authorities said the suspect and the victim were apparently at the hotel by mutual consent. (Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)