Report: Arrests Made in Video Beating Incident

UPDATE, Feb. 13 - Two people were arrested yesterday and a third man who was already in custody has been charged in the whipping of a Newark youth on a city street, a sadistic beating caught on video uploaded to various social media sites, NJ.com reported.

Citing police sources, Nj.com said a 19-year-old man who was housed in the Essex County jail has been identified as the person whipping the victim. Two other people present for the attack, inlcuding the person who filmed it, were also arrested yesterday.

Ranking law enforcement officials declined to comment on the arrests yesterday but a press conference has been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon where police and Mayor Cory Booker plan to discuss the investigation.

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A disturbing video showing a young man being whipped with a belt in broad daylight on a Newark street has sparked outrage among the public and city law enforcement, who are now conducting an extensive search for the attacker.

The video, which surfaced on WorldStarHipHop.com, an urban media site, shows a young man cornered by at least three other men who force him to strip naked.

“Take everything off right now,” an unseen man is heard on the two-and-a-half minute clip. The man then berates the victim for moving too slowly. Later, one man is seen dumping water on the victim and laughing as the victim screams in pain during a beating that lasts for more than a minute.

Perhaps even more troubling is the apparent motivation for the attack: the victim is referred to as the son of a man, called “D-Dog” in the video, who owes the attackers just $20.

“Man, just ‘cause his father owes money mean’s he’s gotta take his s**t off?” one of the assailants is heard saying at one point.

It is unclear when or where in the city the attack took place, but Newark police have begun an investigation and are aware of a Twitter account whose owner may be linked to the video, Nj.com reported Tuesday.

Samuel DeMaio, the director of the Newark Police Department, expressed outrage about the incident and said the department has three squads of detectives on a manhunt to find the belt-wielding attacker.

"You don't know how bad I want to see the kid who did that taken into custody," DeMaio was quoted as saying.