KENNESAW, Ga. — Two 20-year-old men are accused of beating a Kennesaw State University in the parking lot just outside of his home.
The student, Jalique Rosemond, who is Black, said two young white men he had never seen before rushed at him, beat him and called him racial slurs last weekend.
“They were hitting me, they stomped on me,” Rosemond said Wednesday night. “As they’re beating me they’re referring to me as Black boy, boy, (expletive), constantly saying racial slurs as they’re attacking me.”
He was recalling the moments from just before midnight Saturday. Rosemond said he was arriving back at his apartment complex, West 22 Apartments, after working his part-time job as a Door Dash driver.
He said his attackers drove away.
“He was bleeding, and his nose was fractured,” said Rosemond's roommate, Emmanuel Osakwe, who drove him to the hospital to get treated.
According to a Kennesaw Police Department report released Thursday, a fight occurred inside the West 22 apartment complex around 12:11 a.m. early Sunday morning. Police said that the victim was attacked while exiting his car. The suspects then left the complex before police officers arrived, they said.
KPD said that "this could ultimately be racially motivated" based on the video they currently have and the statements from those they've talked to.
However, officers did not file hate crime charges in the case. The two men accused of attacking Rosemond are facing a felony count of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor count of battery.
11Alive asked the agency how often KPD had filed hate crime charges last year. A 2022 KPD hate crime report revealed zero cases.