Last week, a Chicago woman took to Facebook Live in order to broadcast her and her friends brutally attacking, beating and torturing an 18-year-old man with special needs. The shocking story and accompanying graphic video sent shock-waves across the country and inevitably reached news stations across the globe.
Quickly after the video began circulating online, four individuals were arrested for their involvement in the attack and are currently being held without bail. All of the individuals involved, who range in age from 18 to 24, are being charged with felony aggravated kidnapping, aggravated unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. They are also being charged with committing a hate crime on account of some racially-charged comments made by one of the assailants.
With the victim still struggling to recover from his traumatic experience, which included him effectively being held captive for 48 hours, a GoFundMe campaign for the victim has already generated more than $160,000, far more than the $10,000 the campaign was initially seeking.
“People from all 50 states have donated on the site,” the Chicago Tribune reports, “which was established last week by Reddit user Razor Sheldon. A company representative said GoFundMe will make sure the funds reach the 18-year-old’s family.”
Neal Strom, an attorney for the victim’s family, said that the money will immediately be used to help detect and subsequently deal with any manifestations of PTSD.
