(Image source: WSB TV)

BY LAUREN ZIMA

The victim of an alleged anti-gay attack in Atlanta has come forward. 20-year-old Brandon White says he was beaten on February 4th by three men. Another man filmed the attack, and the video was widely circulated online. We want to warn you -- the following content may be disturbing to some.

White is seen leaving a grocery store. The man filming the incident uses a gay slur, as do the men he is filming. They then attack White, and while three men beat him, the men watching laugh. The gay slur is used several more times. Police believe the men to be members of a gang called Jack City.

On Wednesday, White came forward and revealed himself as the victim in the video. White calls the men monsters, says he feels violated and embarrassed, and that he wasn’t bothering anyone in the store. CNN has the footage. 

WHITE: “I shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not I should have to look over my shoulder, or is this person going to attack me, is that person going to attack me, for just being a gay male.”

No one has yet been arrested for the attack. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports locals are outraged. A leader in the area of Atlanta, which is called Pittsburgh, points out another disturbing aspect of the attack.

“‘The biggest problem we have about this is that no one thought to stop and call the police,’ said LaShawn Hoffman, Pittsburgh Community Improvement Association president and CEO. ‘As if this is a norm. This is not the norm.’”

The FBI is now investigating to see if the case meets the criteria for prosecution under the federal hate crimes statute. But WSB TV spoke with Devon Barrington-Ward of Change Atlanta, who points out this brings up a state level issue.

“Georgia one of the only places without hate crime legislation, and that needs to stop. It’s sad that something like this has to take place in order for us to get some traction, but this, unfortunately, has to be a teachable moment.”