The Latest: Police look at hate crime laws in Chicago attack

This image posted on the Chicago Police Department's Twitter page shows a frame from a video that was broadcast live on Facebook in which a man is assaulted. The video shows the man with his mouth taped shut as a woman and other people cut off his shirt and hair with a knife, and someone pushes his head with his or her foot. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Wednesday that the victim has mental health challenges, and he called the video "sickening." (Chicago Police Department via AP) This image posted on the Chicago Police Department's Twitter page shows a frame from a video that was broadcast live on Facebook in which a man is assaulted. The video shows the man with his mouth taped shut as a woman and other people cut off his shirt and hair with a knife, and someone pushes his head with his or her foot. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Wednesday that the victim has mental health challenges, and he called the video "sickening." (Chicago Police Department via AP)

By Associated Press January 5, 2017 2 min read

CHICAGO (AP) – The Latest on the beating of a white man in Chicago that was broadcast live on Facebook (all times local):

9:20 a.m.

Chicago police say authorities are considering whether an attack on a white man that was broadcast live on Facebook falls under hate crimes statutes.

Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Thursday morning that the four black suspects made “terrible racist statements” during the assault but that police believe the victim was targeted because he has “special needs,” not because of his race.

Still, Guglielmi says investigators are looking at whether the assault falls under hate-crime laws.