Trigger warning: physical assault

Multiple women in New York City have reported being punched in the face by what has been speculated to be the same man or a group of coordinated attackers. The disconcerting series of assaults has since prompted warnings and growing speculations, with women pointing to similarities and narrowed locations. Police have since made an arrest pointing to a one-man crime (updated March 28 08:20 CET).

The assaults first came to the public’s attention in the past month after a series of female victims started to warn others by recounting their attacks on TikTok, including Halley Kate, an influencer who has 1.1 million followers on the platform.

Halley posted a video Monday (March 25) after one attack, which is being investigated by the New York Police Department (NYPD), saying it caused her to fall to the ground and black out, The New York Post reported.

In her video, the teary TikToker said: “You guys, I was literally just walking, and a man came up and punched me in the face.

“Oh my God, it was so bad. I can’t even talk.”

Multiple women in New York City reported being punched in the face, prompting widespread concern and speculation

Image credits: halleykate

Another woman named Mikayla Toninato, whose bio says she attends Greenwich Village’s Parsons School of Design, tagged Kate in a post six hours later, where she recounted a similar story, as per The Post.

She recalled: “I just got punched in the face walking home.

“I was literally like leaving class, I turned the corner, and I was looking down, and I was looking at my phone, and, like, texting, and then, out of nowhere, this man just came up and hit me in the face.”

@halleykate♬ original sound – halley

On March 17, a separate woman named Olivia Brand took to the same platform to announce: “I literally got punched in the head on the sidewalk. 

“He goes, ‘Sorry,’ and then punches me in the head.

“Holy cr*p. What the hell just happened? Oh my God.”

The NYPD reportedly confirmed the narratives of Halley and Olivia, saying that a 23-year-old woman reported an assault at West 16th Street and 7th Avenue at 10:20 a.m. on Monday.

The assaults first came to the public’s attention after a series of female victims started to warn others by recounting their attacks on TikTok

Image credits: mikaylatoninato

Halley was treated at a medical facility for injuries to the left side of her face, the police said, as per The Post.

On Thursday (March 28) morning, the NYPD announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) that they had arrested an individual upon seeing “a viral video depicting a woman who was randomly assaulted.”

pic.twitter.com/0oBRaqSZv0

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) March 28, 2024

Police didn’t release the identity of the man arrested, however, they did state that he was a criminal recidivist with “an extensive criminal record”.

This is the third time in six months that the man has been arrested, according to the NYPD.

It is still not entirely certain whether the incidents were all connected or not. Nevertheless, the culprit (or multiple perpetrators) have displayed very similar methods.

A woman who goes by Sarah Suzuki Harvard and describes herself as a stand-up comedian took to her X page on Tuesday (March 26) to detail her own attack, which happened earlier this week.

@mikaylatoninato @halley ♬ original sound – mikayla

“On Tuesday 3/19 @ around 8p, I was walking alone out of the Delancey/Essex St station where I got punched in the back of my skull from a random man on the street,” Sarah started in a thread about her assault.

She continued: “Since then, I’ve seen several NYC women on TikTok reporting they’ve been punched in the face.

“A lot of these women shared similar descriptions of the man who punched them (and me).”

The NYPD confirmed some of the TikTokers’ narratives, saying that a 23-year-old woman reported an assault in New York City

Image credits: jill_burke

“He was a black male around 6ft wearing dreads that stopped right above his shoulders. 

“I distinctively remember that he was wearing a knit hat and was wearing a denim jacket and jeans.

“Most of these women say that they were looking at their phones when they were punched.

“I was attacked from behind. 

“This all seems to me that he is targeting unassuming women.”

@jill_burke♬ original sound – Jill Burke

“Nearly all of these women were attacked downtown in the Union Square / East Village / LES area.

“Fortunately, I’m ok. I had pain, vision, dizziness, headaches & nausea since the attack.

“I didn’t file a police report because I don’t know how much help it’d be but decided I’ll file one today. 

“I went back to the scene yesterday + noticed security cameras. Hope it helps.”

One of the women who exposed her attack on TikTok was treated at a medical facility for injuries to the left side of her face

Image credits: olivia.brand

Sarah went on to share video links of no less than five different women sharing similar stories. From the victims’ claims, people online have been able to draw an area of interest, where most, if not all, the attacks have been happening.

An X user who goes by “Tyler McCall” posted a map on the social media platform of the danger zone, listing key points: “Some common threads popping up on these videos of women being punched in New York City:

“1) Sounds like he says something like “sorry” or “excuse me” just before attacking.

“2) Appears to be targeting women on phones.

“3) All the women I saw were in this general area of Manhattan.”

@olivia.brandI &lt3 nyc♬ original sound – Olivia Brand

Pariss Athena, CEO and founder of Black Tech Pipeline, also weighed in on the unsettling series of incidents, as she warned other women on X: “Women walking in NYC:

“Please be aware of your surroundings and try not to look down at your phone.

“There’s either one man or an organized group of men deliberately punching women in the face and head who happens to be looking down at their phone while walking.”

Women have collected key similarities of the attacks, warning others on multiple social media platforms

Some common threads popping up on these videos of women being punched in New York City:
1) Sounds like he says something like “sorry” or “excuse me” just before attacking
2) Appears to be targeting women on phones
3) All the women I saw were in this general area of Manhattan pic.twitter.com/cpwxduy86i

— Tyler McCall (@eiffeltyler) March 26, 2024

Pariss further speculated: “Okay this is definitely a group of men around NYC. 

“One woman gave a description of a Black man, another gave a description of a yt (white) man. 

“Another woman said it was a ‘man walking his dog’. Plz be careful.”

The number of disturbing attacks has continuously grown throughout the week, with more and more claims being made through various social media platforms, including X, Instagram, and TikTok.

Bored Panda reached out to the NYPD on Tuesday night but received no further elaboration about the attacks.

The troubling phenomenon sparked outrage on social media

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