The “knockout game”--which involves usually groups of teens punching a stranger in the head at random--is a game with potentially deadly consequences, triggering officials to investigate reports around the United States.
There have been reports of teenagers across the United States--including in places like Philadelphia, New York, San Diego, New Jersey--sucker punching people in random before running off, with some leading to deaths and severe injuries.
Ralph Santiago, a 46-year-old homeless man in New Jersey, died when he was hit from behind in September, Hoboken Detective Anthony Caruso told CNN. He had a pre-existing brain injury before he was hit, and he suffered a seizure as a result.
Video footage showed teens running from the scene of the crime.
Last week, a 28-year-old man, Amrit Marajh, was charged with harassment as a hate crime after he allegedly punched a 24-year-old Orthodox Jewish man on Friday morning. The victim, who was not identified, said he was part of the “knockout game,” AP reported.
“He makes a statement that he was punched in the side of the face,” New York Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly told AP about Marajh’s motive. “He also makes a statement that just prior to it they were talking about the ‘Knockout Game.’”
Israel Blizovsky, a photography intern from Israel, told the New York Post on Monday that he was victim of the game.
“He was very strong. I was in shock,” he told the paper “I saw a large group of black teenagers coming. I moved to the side to let them pass. Then, all of a sudden, when I was passing right next to them, I felt a punch in the face. They just kept walking. They were all laughing. They said something right after he punched me, but I don’t understand English. It looked like they were making fun of me.”
In Pennsylvania, teacher Jim Addlespurger said he was hit in Pittsburgh in an unprovoked attack this year. He was passing a group of teenagers, and according to surveillance footage, one of them hit him in the head and he fell face-first to the ground.
“I was hit with one punch,” Addlespurger said. “I’m fortunate that I’m alive to tell you about it.”
The game’s purpose is to knock a person out with one punch, said authorities, although some stressed that investigations are pending as to whether some cases involve the game or if there were other motives involved.
“It’s hard to excuse this behavior, there’s no purpose to this,” Jeffrey Butts, a psychologist specializing in juvenile delinquency at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told The Associated Press.
He added, “When someone runs into a store and demands money, you can sort of understand why they’re doing it, desperation, whatever. But just hitting someone for the sheer thrill of seeing if you can knock someone out is just childish.”
Officials are also examining suspected attacks in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Jersey City.
According to research done by the Epoch Times, instances of the game go back to at least 1992. Yngve Raustein, a 21-year-old MIT student from Norway, was punched by a group of three teenagers who decided to play a game the police called “knockout,” reported The New York Times at the time.
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