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Jazz Musician Beaten Outside Green Mill Lounge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Friends of a 69-year-old Chicago jazz drummer said he was the victim of a hate crime this past weekend, when he was attacked leaving the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge in Uptown.

WBBM's Steve Miller reports a gofundme page is raising money for Avreeayl Ra, an African American drummer.

Police said Ra was beaten by several white males early Saturday.

"It was a shocker, because we go in and out of these venues all of the time, all of us," said longtime friend and fellow musician Coco Elysses.

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According to Elysses, Ra was unconscious for a while after the attack, and later drove himself to the hospital.

"He's broken. I mean, it's to be expected. I can only imagine. I've never experienced something like that, so I can only imagine how broken I would feel on the inside," Elysses said.

No one was in custody as of Tuesday morning.

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