Buster

Atlanta Cops, FBI Agents ID Beating Victim, Hunt Attackers Seen In Vicious Viral Video

Cops and FBI agents probing the videotaped beating Saturday of an Atlanta man have identified and spoken with the victim, and are now jointly hunting the attackers, according to an Atlanta Police Department spokesperson.

In a statement released this evening, Atlanta police identified Brandon White, 20, as the man who was viciously assaulted outside a market in the city’s Pittsburgh neighborhood. After video of the assault went viral, a relative of White’s contacted police, cops reported.

White, pictured at right, has provided officers with a statement about the February 4 attack outside a McDaniel Street market that has been a gathering spot for members of the Pittsburgh Jack City Gang.

Since one of White’s attackers--as well as the cameraman and a bystander--repeatedly refer to the victim as a “faggot,” FBI agents are probing the attack to determine whether it “meets the criteria for prosecution under the federal hate crimes statute,” according to the APD spokesman. As White is assaulted, the giggling cameraman announces, four times, “No faggots in Jack City.”

Crime Stoppers Atlanta is offering a reward of up to $5000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those responsible for the attack.

Video of the assault apparently was first posted early yesterday to the Worldstar Hip Hop web site. But the criminal probe did not begin until TSG determined where the attack occurred and contacted Atlanta police for comment. Cops, who were unaware of the assault, opened an investigation after a reporter provided them with a copy of the video and the address where the beating took place.

White will appear tomorrow afternoon at a press conference organized by Atlanta’s HIV Intervention Project, according to a statement released this afternoon by the non-profit organization.