Chicago police have charged four black suspects with hate crimes and battery charges in an attack on a disabled white man that was posted live to social media, according to the Associated Press.
The Facebook Live video appeared to show a man being tied up and tortured by several people.
CPD Arrested and Charged all four offenders with Hate Crime, as well as other charges, from West Side kidnapping and attack. Presser@2:15 pic.twitter.com/EoYnluf573
— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) January 5, 2017
BREAKING: Hate crime, battery charges filed against four black suspects accused in beating of white man streamed live on Facebook.
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 5, 2017
Read the original report below.
BuzzFeed News reported that the video was shot by a black woman who turns the camera toward herself and other people throughout, although it shows a white man who has his mouth covered with duct tape and restrained with some sort of tied material.
A person in the video can be heard saying, "(expletive) Donald Trump! (expletive) white people!"
The original video has been removed from Facebook.
Chicago police, who became aware of the video Tuesday afternoon, posted a statement about the incident on Twitter, saying "the disturbing video that surfaced on social media of a battery … is under investigation/suspects are being questioned."
Regarding the disturbing video that surfaced on social media of a battery: Incident is under investigation/suspects are being questioned pic.twitter.com/GGi3qs9rGv
— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) January 4, 2017
"At this point CPD believes the video is credible and detectives are questioning persons of interest in the case," police said in the statement.
In a Wednesday press conference, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson described the victim as "an adult male with mental health challenges."
Commanding Officer Steven Sesso said that 11 district officers noticed a person in distress and took him to the hospital, where police said he was traumatized. "At the same time, there were some individuals from another incident that were taken into custody at roughly the same address," Sesso said.
"The officers, working hand in hand, were able to put together the fact that the individual in distress was missing from one of our suburbs and considered an endangered missing.
Sesso said the suspects were then permanently detained based on information gathered from the victim and the determination made by police.
Fox 32 reported that, according to police, four people, two males and two females, three of which are from Chicago and one who is from Carpentersville, Illinois, are in custody.
Police said that the victim was being treated at a local hospital in stable condition and was released.
"We anticipate charges within the next 24 hours," Commander Kevin Duffin said in the press conference, adding that the victim is an acquaintance of one of the suspects, whom the victim knew from school.
"It appears (the victim) initially went voluntarily with one of the suspects he knew," Duffin said. "I don't know how the other three got involved."
Police are still investigating the incident.
WSBTV
