A series of violent, physical assaults that involve teenagers sucker-punching women and men, young and old, has recently been coined “The Knockout Game.”
Teenagers playing this game punch innocent pedestrians, usually walking alone, with enough force to knock them over and to often render them unconscious. Reported victims have a range in age anywhere between 14 and 80-years-old.
Below is a clip of a knockout attack in Milwaukee, Wisconsin caught on tape:
These assaults are not muggings; a 78-year-old recently reported that perpetrators punched her in the head “without touching her shopping bags or her pocketbook.” Attacks have been reported across the United States, including seven cases in New York City and others in Pennsylvania, San Diego, New Jersey, and Syracuse; two deaths have been tied to this game.
“The Knockout Game” has not failed to stir debates that relate to racial profiling. For more on this and other background information, watch former NYPD detective Harry Houck’s report for CNN below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICqQUNdw_fY
In the fall, a group of teenagers in Brooklyn roamed around a Jewish community and recorded a video of a teen punching an Orthodox Jew. Police were able to find and arrest the 20-year-old assailant through the shared video of the attack. He was charged for a hate crime and could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Legislators in Albany have decided that it’s time to crack down on these random acts of violence. A New York State assemblyman, Jim Tedisco, said that his bill
Credit:Wikimedia Commons
will charge the perpetrators with gang assault, resulting in a sentence of 25 years in prison; teens will also be convicted as adults.
So, what are the reasons that lie behind playing the “game”? FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt explained, “There’s no robbery, there’s no rhyme or reason; it’s just simply youths making a decision they’re going to punch somebody out — sometimes as simple as $5 bet between themselves.” In fact, participants have even called the game “fun” and “amusing.”
Knockout game videos continue to spread popularity; as a result, peer pressure to play the game surrounds teenagers in their efforts to fit in and come across to their peers as tough and confident. The shares, likes, and comments on these videos has caused the game’s influence to grow like wild fire