Social media sleuths aid gay couple beating probe

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia police trying to find suspects in the beating of a gay couple say they got a valuable assist from social media users. A defense lawyer says some of the people sought are turning themselves in for questioning.

Police released surveillance video Tuesday of a group of men and women wanted for questioning.

Not long afterward, a restaurant photo of the group surfaced and social media users set out to identify them. A police detective tweeted, "This is how Twitter is supposed to work for cops."

The victims say they were beaten after the groups bumped into each other and their attackers asked them about their sexual orientation.

The defense lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity because he has not been formally retained. He denies it was a hate crime.