Police searching for victim, suspects in taped beating of gay teen

ATLANTA,None — Atlanta police are investigating a videotaped beating that has gone viral on the Internet showing the brutal attack of a gay man.

The video shows the attack outside a store on the corner of Delevan and McDaniel streets.

In it, several men are shown beating another man and calling him several derogatory names, including some referring to the man's sexual orientation.

"We've looked at the video, we're aware of it. We've reached out to our investigators and officers in Zone 3, which is where we believe the incident occurred. As of right now, we've been unable to locate an incident where police were called. So, we're interested in speaking with the victim, having him come forward and file a police report. And then we're asking anyone who sees this video, if they think they know the victim and/or the perpetrators, give us a call," Sgt. Curtis Davenport of the Atlanta Police Department said.

Patrick Hamilton said the video of a gay teen being attacked is very upsetting.

"I mean, it makes me angry when I think about it, cause it's crazy. I mean, I walk down here, too," Hamilton said.

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Police said no one on the street or in the store called 911 to report the attack. Police said they were unaware of the attack until they received an email about it.

"Actually, we got an email from the Smoking Gun, and they gave us a link to (the video), and when we looked at the video, I recognized it as being a location that I'm familiar with along McDaniel Street, so we reached out to Zone 3 and had the major contact investigators and officers in that zone in an attempt to locate the victim and the perpetrators," Davenport said.

Investigators said they patrolled the neighborhood all afternoon and have increased patrols in an effort to find the victim and his attackers.

Anyone with information on the attack or may recognize any of the people involved can call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.

WSBTV