Four suspects are in custody and awaiting charges after being clearly identified in a Facebook livestream of their brutal attack on a teen with special needs.
In a horrific instance of a clear hate crime, a group of young black adults targeted and tortured a white man with special needs, tying, gagging, and attacking him repeatedly in the Chicago area.
The 18-year-old appears to have either been abducted by the group or went with them willingly, but what happened after was clearly against his will. The group – two men and two women – were driving a stolen van when they picked up the victim and took him far from home.
The man was reported missing by his family and was with the attackers anywhere from 24 to 48 hours.
The brutal attack and torture was streamed on a Facebook Live broadcast where viewers could see the group cutting the young man’s clothes, covering him in cigarette ashes, beating him, and cutting his hair – and scalp – with a knife.
The victim appears to have known at least one of the attackers, which is why they might have been able to convince him to enter their stolen vehicle.
According to Huffington Post:
“The suspects, who are black, yelled “fuck Donald Trump” and “fuck white people, boy” at the victim, who is white. It is not clear if the victim was a supporter of the president-elect.
At one point, one of the suspects looked into the camera and addressed the people watching via Facebook.
“If any one of y’all got a problem with this, I’m gonna tie y’all bitch ass up too!” he yelled.”
The young man was later found by police wandering in the city wearing just shorts in the freezing weather. He was taken in for questioning and police are still trying to coax him into sharing the full account of his attack as he is clearly shaken, an additional obstacle to his special needs.
This disturbing hate crime should be pursued to the full extent of the law. There is clear video evidence of the attack, and their motivation for the attack made just as clear. This is a despicable act.
