Chicago police detain four suspects in connection with 'sickening' Facebook Live torture video


Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Wednesday evening that Chicago police have detained four people — two men and two women — on suspicion of kidnapping and assaulting a mentally disabled 18-year-old, an attack that was broadcast via Facebook Live. Police say they expect to file charges within 24 hours, and did not disclose the race of the suspects, but on the video, since taken down by Facebook, people in the room can be heard using profanity against "white people" and President-elect Donald Trump. The victim, who appears to be white, was found wandering around the West Side of Chicago in shorts on Tuesday evening, and Chicago Police Cmdr. Kevin Duffin says the man was "traumatized" by the kidnapping and assault but has been treated and released from the hospital.
The 30-minute video shows a black woman laughing and other people cutting the shirt off a man with his mouth taped shut, pushing his head back with a foot, and slicing off some of his hair and drawing blood, among other things. There are alcohol bottles in the room. Duffin said police are considering classifying it a hate crime, but are still determining if the language in the video "is sincere or just stupid ranting and raving."
"It's sickening. It makes you wonder what would make individuals treat somebody like that," Johnson said in the news conference. "I've been a cop for 28 years and I've seen things that you shouldn't see. It still amazes me how you still see things that you just shouldn't.... I'm not going to say it shocked me but it was sickening." You can learn more and watch some of the disturbing footage in the CNN report below. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 11, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - shark-infested waters, Mother's Day, and more
-
5 fundamentally funny cartoons about the US Constitution
Cartoons Artists take on Sharpie edits, wear and tear, and more
-
In search of paradise in Thailand's western isles
The Week Recommends 'Unspoiled spots' remain, providing a fascinating insight into the past
-
The Supreme Court case that could forge a new path to sue the FBI
The Explainer The case arose after the FBI admitted to raiding the wrong house in 2017
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suit
Speed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
Swearing in the UK: a colourful history
In The Spotlight Thanet council's bad language ban is the latest chapter in a saga of obscenity
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence