McLEAN, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man says police failed to come to his aid as he was beaten by white supremacists during Saturday’s violent protests in Charlottesville, Va., that led to three deaths.
Photos and video of the beating inflicted on 21-year-old DeAndre Harris have gone viral. Police said Tuesday they are investigating the incident, portions of which were captured on video. One person of interest has been identified, but no arrests have been made, city spokeswoman Miriam Dickler said in a text message.
Harris was beaten in a parking garage right next to the city police station.
Zach Roberts, a documentary photographer, said he told police officers immediately after the beating what occurred and that he had photos of the attack, but they were not interested at the time.
Hundreds of white nationalists, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members and others converged on Charlottesville Saturday, ostensibly in an effort unite right-wing factions in a city that became a flashpoint due to a prolonged debate about what to do with a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Rally participants clashed frequently with counter-protesters. One man linked to white nationalist groups, 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr. of Ohio, has been charged with murder and other counts after a fatal hit-and-run crash that killed woman and injured 19 others.