Chicago police are investigating after several videos were posted to Facebook on Wednesday of a young man appearing to be tortured by an unknown number of assailants.
The victim, who according to CPD detectives is mentally disabled, was seen in the video being beaten and tormented while someone yelled "F*ck Trump!" and "F*ck white people!," police spokesman Anthony Gugliemi confirmed Wednesday.
"The video is reprehensible," said Guglielmi.
The young man in the video was seen huddling in a corner with his arms tied and mouth bound with tape. He was filmed being physically beaten before he had his hair cut until his scalp bled. The victim also had his clothes cut and had cigarette ash flicked over the wound on his head.
Detectives are questioning four black suspects in connection with the attack, though they have yet to formally charge anyone, Guglielmi said he didn't know when the victim was allegedly abducted or how long he was held.
Detectives believe the victim, who appeared to be in his late teens or early 20s, met with an unknown number of acquaintances in northwest suburban Streamwood and they drove him to Chicago in a stolen vehicle.
On Tuesday afternoon the victim was spotted walking down a street on the West Side of the city in shorts, Guglielmi said. Because of the cold weather, police stopped and questioned the young man. The victim had suffered visible cuts and burns, according to the CPD spokesman.
"In so many ways this was a hate crime because of what they said to him—saying he's with Trump. When you make a person say, 'I love black people,' that's a hate crime all the way," said community activist Andrew Holmes of the incident.
Holmes hopes that the incident doesn't spur any racial backlash in the city. "Let the chips fall where they may, and let the judicial system work," he said.
Source: youtube.com
