Police release mugshots of suspects in attack on Kennesaw State student

KENNESAW, Ga. - Investigators say tips from the public helped them arrest two suspects charged with a possibly racially-motivated attack on a Kennesaw State Student.

Kennesaw police said the attack happened at around midnight on Sunday at the West 22 apartment complex on Cherokee Street. It's about two miles north of the Kennesaw State University campus.

At the scene, police found Jalique Rosemond bleeding from his nose. He told police he was getting out of his car when two white men beat him to the ground and kicked him in the face while calling him the N-word, according to a police report.

"I want people to understand this was very traumatic for me", said Rosemond. 

Rosemund said he didn't know the people who attacked him.

"They just pounced on him, hitting him, abusing him. They did kick him in the nose and his nose was fractured. They pulled out his dreadlocks," said Rosemond's roommate Emmanuel Osakwe.

After an investigation, authorities charged Gauge Dakota Stanley, 20, and Kole Zuba Reasoner, 20, with felony aggravated battery and misdemeanor battery in connection with the attack.

The Kennesaw Police Department says tips from the community helped lead investigators to the two men. 

(Kennesaw Police Department)

"Without the public's trust and the tips received, these arrests would not have been possible," the department said in a statement.

Authorities say it is possible that the men could be charged with a hate crime.

"Based on the statements of the victim, this ultimately could be racially motivated. A peace officer cannot charge for a hate crime. It is a sentencing enhancement brought on during the prosecution of the case," Kennesaw police told FOX 5 Atlanta in a statement:

Georgia's hate crimes statute allows for additional penalties to be imposed for crimes motivated by a victim’s race, religion, sexual orientation or other factors