US cities hit by teens playing 'knockout', with fatal results
Aim of the violence is to knock an innocent passerby unconscious with a single punch
Police in New York, Washington and Jersey City are investigating whether recent random attacks on pedestrians are part of a violent game called "knockout", where the goal is to target unsuspecting pedestrians and knock them unconscious with one punch.
Authorities say the game has been around for years, and was played mostly by impulsive teenage boys looking to impress their friends. At least two deaths have been linked to the game this year, and police have seen a recent spike in attacks.
In New York, a woman aged 78 walking in her neighbourhood was punched in the head by a stranger and fell to the ground. In Washington, a woman, 32, was swarmed by teenagers on bikes, and one hit her in the face. In Jersey City, a man, 46, died after someone punched him and he struck his head on an iron fence.
"It's hard to excuse this behaviour," said Jeffrey Butts, a psychologist at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice who specialised in juvenile delinquency.
"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."
The New York Police Department's hate crimes task force is investigating, because some attacks have been against Orthodox Jews.
While some victims have been white, and some suspected attackers black, experts said the incidents were more about preying on the seemingly defenceless than race or religion.
"It's about someone who is seemingly helpless, and choosing that person to target," Butts said.
One victim in Washington, Phoebe Connolly, said she was randomly punched in the face by a teenager while riding her bike last Friday. "I don't know what the goal was," she said. "There wasn't any attempt to take anything from me."
A recent media blitz about the game wasn't helping, Connolly and experts said.
"The behaviour of the sudden assault of someone who seems helpless has appealed to the idiotic impulsive quality of adolescence forever," Butts said. "But in the past 10 years, they've giving a name to this, and there are now bragging rights beyond your immediate circle, when this is on television and online."
In September in Jersey City, two 13-year-olds and a 14-year-old were charged as juveniles in the murder of Ralph Eric Santiago, 46. He was found on September 10 with his neck broken and his head wedged between iron fence posts.
In May in Syracuse, a group of teenagers attempting to knock Michael Daniels out with a single punch finally beat and kicked him to death, according to police. A 16-year-old was found guilty of manslaughter, and his 13-year-old co-defendant pleaded guilty to assault. Both were sentenced to 18 months jail.
