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{{Short description|Type of random assault to passersby}}
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{{About|the form of assault}}
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"'''Knockout game'''" is one of the names given in the United States for assaults in which a person (with others acting as accomplices or lookouts) attempts to make an unsuspecting victim lose consciousness with a single ]. The assaults have similarities to the ] trend seen in Europe, in which ]s are used to record assaults. Other names given to assaults of this type include "'''knockout'''", "'''knockout king'''", "'''point 'em out, knock 'em out'''", and "'''polar-bearing'''" or "'''polar-bear hunting'''" (called such when the victim is ] and the assailants are black).<ref name=nbcpolar/><ref name=cbspolar/> Serious injuries and even deaths have been attributed to the knockout game. Some news sources report that there was an escalation of such attacks in late 2013, and, in some cases, the attacker was charged with a ].<ref name=nbcpolar/><ref name="DN CH"/><ref name=jweek1/>
'''Knockout''', the '''knockout game''', '''knockout king''', '''bombing''',<ref name="uk1"/><ref name="uk2"/> '''polar-bearing''', '''polar-bear hunting''',<ref name=nbcpolar /><ref name=nypostpolar /><ref name=cbspolar /> '''point 'em out, knock 'em out''' and '''happy slapping''' are the names given to assaults in which, purportedly, one or more assailants attempt to knock out an unsuspecting victim, often with a single ].<ref name=nypostpolar /><ref>{{cite news |title=Unprovoked attacks at heart of 'Knockout King' |author= |url=http://www.webcitation.org/64J2wq7iH |agency=] |date=2011-12-24 |accessdate= |archiveurl= |archivedate=}}</ref> Serious injuries and deaths have been attributed to knockout. In the second half of 2013, a series of such attacks in the United States brought media attention and controversy. A perception that the game had become racially motivated led to calls for the game to be labelled a ] and/or a crime requiring new targeted legislation.<ref name=nbcpolar /><ref name="DN CH" /><ref name=jweek1 /> Some have cast doubt that the knockout game is a trend and have called it a ]<ref name=slate>{{cite web|last=Roller |first=Emma |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/11/25/why_the_knockout_game_trend_is_a_myth.html |title=Why the "Knockout Game" trend is a myth |publisher='']'' |date=2013-11-25 |accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Melanie|last=Eversley|url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/26/knockout-game-myth/3729635/|title=Reports: Alleged Trend of 'knockout game' a myth|publisher=]|date=2013-11-26|accessdate=2013-11-29}}</ref> or an example of ].<ref name=times /><ref name=beast>{{cite web|last=Bouie |first=Jamelle |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/25/guess-what-the-knockout-game-is-america-s-latest-phony-panic.html |title=Guess What? The 'Knockout Game' Is America's Latest Phony Panic |publisher='']'' |date=2013-11-25 |accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref>


==History of attacks== ==History of attacks==
The "Knockout game" became known after the ] in 1992. Before 1992, the act of attacking and trying to "knock out" a person for entertainment also existed and was given different names, such as "wilding" or "One-Hitter Quitter" in the late 1980s and early 1990s.<ref name="Nat. Rev.">{{cite web |last1=Torres |first1=Alec |title=The History of 'Knockout' |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2013/11/history-knockout-alec-torres/ |website=National Review |access-date=30 May 2022 |date=22 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="NPR">{{cite web |author1=Gene Demby |author1-link=Gene Demby |title='The Knockout Game': An Old Phenomenon With Fresh Branding |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/11/27/247366898/the-knockout-game-an-old-phenomenon-with-fresh-branding |website=NPR |access-date=30 May 2022 |date=27 November 2013}}</ref>
===1992-2009===
{{see also|Murder of Yngve Raustein|happy slapping}}
In September 1992, Norwegian exchange student ] was killed by three teenagers who, according to ], prosecutors, were playing a game called "knockout." Local teens said that the object was to knock an unsuspecting target unconscious with a single punch, and if the assailant did not succeed, his companions turned on him instead.<ref name=yngve>{{cite news|title=MIT student's death attributed to violent "knockout" game|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2pZGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lvgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6167,4733376&dq=violent+knockout+game&hl=en|accessdate=|newspaper=]|date=1992-09-23}}</ref>


In September 1992, Norwegian exchange student Yngve Raustein was killed by three teenagers who, according to ], prosecutors, were playing a game called "knockout". Raustein was stabbed after falling to the ground. Local teens said that the object is to render an unsuspecting target unconscious with a single punch, and, if the assailant does not succeed, his companions will turn on him instead.<ref name=yngve>{{cite news|title=MIT student's death attributed to violent "knockout" game|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2pZGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lvgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6167,4733376&dq=violent+knockout+game&hl=en|accessdate=February 11, 2016|newspaper=]|date=1992-09-23}}</ref>
In 2005 in the United Kingdom, ] reported on the ] incidents, where the attack is filmed for the purpose of sharing online.<ref name=DoesHappy>{{cite news|last=Akwagyiram |first=Alexis |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4539913.stm |title=UK &#124; Does 'happy slapping' exist? |publisher=BBC News |date=2005-05-12 |accessdate=}}</ref> The French government responded to this trend by making it against the law to film any acts of violence and post them on the Internet, with a spokesperson for then President ] saying the law was indeed directed at "happy slapping".<ref name=FrenchSlap>{{cite web|last=Kannampilly |first=Ammu |url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=2936331&page=1#.UAcfn0SfD08 |title=French Slap Back at 'Happy Slappers' - ABC News |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=2007-03-08 |accessdate=}}</ref>


In 2005 in the United Kingdom, ] reported on the ] incidents, in which the attacks were filmed for the purpose of posting online.<ref name=DoesHappy>{{cite news|last=Akwagyiram|first=Alexis|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4539913.stm |title=UK &#124; Does 'happy slapping' exist?|work=BBC News|date=2005-05-12}}</ref> The French government responded to this trend by making it illegal to film any acts of violence and post them online, with a spokesperson for then President ] saying that the law was indeed directed at "happy slapping."<ref name=FrenchSlap>{{cite news|last=Kannampilly|first=Ammu|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=2936331 |title=French Slap Back at 'Happy Slappers'|work=ABC News|date=March 8, 2007}}</ref>
Three teens were arrested in ], in September 2009 and charged in the killing of a bicyclist, 61, who was stomped to death, and the attempted murder of another man, 46, who was also attacked and stomped. It was claimed that the teens were playing "point 'em out, knock 'em out" where a person is selected and a group of attackers decide to render the victim unconscious.<ref name=TeensArraigned>{{cite web|url=http://herald-review.com/news/local/article_88214bad-f545-503b-8d8a-ecfa2b4dae29.html |title=Teens arraigned for Decatur murder |publisher=Herald-review.com |date=2009-09-21 |accessdate=}}</ref><ref name=chicago/>


Three teens were arrested in ], in September 2009, and charged in the killing of a bicyclist, 61, who was stomped to death, and the attempted murder of another man, 46, who was also attacked and stomped. It was claimed that the teens were playing "point 'em out, knock 'em out," where a person is selected and a group of attackers attempts to render the victim unconscious.<ref name=TeensArraigned>{{cite news|first=Ron|last=Ingram|url=http://herald-review.com/news/local/article_88214bad-f545-503b-8d8a-ecfa2b4dae29.html|title=Teens arraigned for Decatur murder|work=]|date=September 21, 2009}}</ref><ref name=chicago/>
In June 2009, a 29-year-old man was beaten in a ], parking garage by a group of teens who told police that they were playing a game called "Knockout King" where they find an unsuspecting person and knock them out with a single punch.<ref name=ViolenceFor/>


In June 2009, a 29-year-old man was beaten in a ], parking garage by a group of teens who told police that they were playing a game called "knockout king," where they would find an unsuspecting person and attempt to knock him out with a single punch.<ref name=ViolenceFor/>
===2011-2013===


In April 2011, Hoang Nguyen, 72, died in St. Louis, Missouri, after he was attacked in what was described by a local ] station as "part of the so called 'knock out game'." Nguyen's wife, Yen, 62, was injured. After trial, the assailant was sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/05/02/elex-murphy-gets-life-plus-25-years-for-knockout-game-murder |title=Elex Murphy Gets Life Plus 25 Years for Knockout Game Murder « CBS St. Louis |publisher=Stlouis.cbslocal.com |date=2013-05-02 |accessdate=2013-12-09}}</ref><ref name=king>{{cite news |date=2011-04-21 |title=Elex Murphy: St. Louis Teen Allegedly Killed Elderly Immigrant As Part Of Game |url=http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2011/04/elex_murphy_murder_hoang_nguyen_st_louis_immigrant_vietnam.php |newspaper=Riverfront Times}}</ref><ref name=ViolenceFor>{{cite news |title=Violence for fun may be spreading among teens|url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_a234c676-46b7-5c66-a193-dd09fc49d8b8.html|accessdate=|newspaper=]|date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2013-05-03 |title='Knockout game' widow tells of lonely life after husband's murder |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/knockout-game-widow-tells-of-lonely-life-after-husband-s/article_636cb831-f292-5238-b70d-5e523205ff1f.html |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}</ref> In April 2011, Hoang Nguyen, 72, died in ], after he was attacked in what was described by a local ] station as "part of the so-called knockout game". Nguyen's wife, Yen, 62, was injured. After the trial, the assailant, Elex Murphy, who was 18 at the time of the assault, was sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years.<ref name=ViolenceFor>{{cite news|first1=Jennifer|last1=Mann|first2=Marlon A.|last2=Walker|title=Violence for fun may be spreading among teens|url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_a234c676-46b7-5c66-a193-dd09fc49d8b8.html|newspaper=]|date=April 22, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/05/02/elex-murphy-gets-life-plus-25-years-for-knockout-game-murder|title=Elex Murphy Gets Life Plus 25 Years for Knockout Game Murder|publisher=]|date=2013-05-02|accessdate=2013-12-09}}</ref><ref name=king>{{cite news|first=Chad|last=Garrison|date=2011-04-21|title=Elex Murphy: St. Louis Teen Allegedly Killed Elderly Immigrant As Part Of Game|url=http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2011/04/elex_murphy_murder_hoang_nguyen_st_louis_immigrant_vietnam.php|newspaper=Riverfront Times|access-date=2013-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131125010707/http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2011/04/elex_murphy_murder_hoang_nguyen_st_louis_immigrant_vietnam.php|archive-date=2013-11-25|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Jennifer|last1=Mann|date=2013-05-03|title='Knockout game' widow tells of lonely life after husband's murder|url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/knockout-game-widow-tells-of-lonely-life-after-husband-s/article_636cb831-f292-5238-b70d-5e523205ff1f.html|newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|accessdate=January 10, 2016}}</ref>


In July 2012, 62-year-old Delfino Mora was attacked by three teens and killed in West ]. Anthony Malcolm, who recorded the attack on his cell phone (the video was seen on ]) was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Two other teens were awaiting trial in September 2013. The attack was said to be part of a "Pick 'em out, knock 'em out" game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.suntimes.com/22522995-761/30-year-sentence-for-teen-in-videotaped-beating-death-of-delfino-mora.html |title=30-year sentence for teen in taped beating death of Delfino Mora - Chicago Sun-Times |publisher=Suntimes.com |date=2013-09-12 |accessdate=2013-12-09}}</ref><ref name=chicago>{{cite web|last=Moser |first=Whet |url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/July-2012/Point-Em-Out-Knock-Em-Out-Knockout-King-Happy-Slapping-and-Random-Street-Violence/ |title='Point Em Out Knock Em Out,' 'Knockout King,' 'Happy Slapping,' and the Murder of Delfino Mora &#124; Chicago magazine |publisher=Chicagomag.com |date=2012-07-18 |accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref> In July 2012, 62-year-old Delfino Mora was attacked by three men and killed in West ], Chicago. Anthony Malcolm, 20, who recorded the attack on his cell phone and publicized it, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Nicholas Ayala, 18, was sentenced to 27 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2014-02-05-chi-2nd-teen-charged-in-2012-knockout-game-killing-gets-30-years-20140204-story.html|title=27 years for teen in 'knockout game' slaying of father of 12|author=Staff report|website=chicagotribune.com|date=5 February 2014 }}</ref> The third, Malik Jones, 21, was sentenced to 33 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-33-years-for-facebook-killing-20170130-story.html|title=Man gets 33 years in fatal beating, robbery posted on Facebook|first=Liam|last=Ford|website=chicagotribune.com|date=February 2017 }}</ref> The attack was said to be part of a game called "pick 'em out, knock 'em out."<ref name=chicago>{{cite web|last=Moser|first=Whet|url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/July-2012/Point-Em-Out-Knock-Em-Out-Knockout-King-Happy-Slapping-and-Random-Street-Violence|title='Point Em Out Knock Em Out,' 'Knockout King', 'Happy Slapping', and the Murder of Delfino Mora|website=Chicagomag.com|date=2012-07-18|accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.suntimes.com/22522995-761/30-year-sentence-for-teen-in-videotaped-beating-death-of-delfino-mora.html|title=30-year sentence for teen in taped beating death of Delfino Mora|website=Suntimes.com|date=2013-09-12|accessdate=2013-12-09}}</ref>


In 2013, a series of these attacks resulted in the death of the victims, all with some sort of game as a precipitating factor to the attack. Michael Daniels (51) of ], died a day after being attacked in May 2013, with the "knockout game" later mentioned in regards to his death.<ref>{{cite news |date=2013-05-30|title=A punch from nowhere, and Michael Daniels' rough life ends in a senseless beating |url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/05/michael_daniels_rough_life_end.html |agency=Syracuse.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.yahoo.com/attacks-around-us-probed-knockout-game-215216013.html |title=Attacks around US probed for link to Knockout Game |agency=Associated Press |date=2013-11-21 |accessdate=}}</ref> British boy Eden Lomax (17) murdered 43-year-old Simon Mitchell in an attack he referred to as a "bomb", and had also performed other non-fatal "bomb" attacks in the days leading up to the murder.<ref name="uk1">{{cite web|author=Sam Webb |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2505111/Boy-17-killed-man-street-single-punch-going-friends-house-play-games.html |title=Boy, 17, 'killed a man in the street with a single punch before going to a friend's house to play computer games' &#124; Mail Online |publisher=Dailymail.co.uk |date=2013-11-13 |accessdate=2013-11-23}}</ref><ref name="uk2">{{cite web|author=Sam Webb |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2511302/Teenager-wildly-attacking-strangers-street-days-murdered-man-single-punch-personalised-bomb-attack.html |title=Teenager wildly attacking strangers in the street days before he murdered a man with a single punch with his personalized 'bomb' attack &#124; Mail Online |publisher=Dailymail.co.uk |date=2013-11-21 |accessdate=2013-11-23}}</ref> Ralph Santiago, a disabled homeless resident of ], was found dead after being attacked by three boys aged 13 to 14 whose assault was linked to the "knockout" game.<ref>{{cite news |date=2013-09-23|title=Hoboken neighbors reeling after arrest of three young teens in murder of disabled man |url=http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2013/09/hoboken_neighbors_still_reelin.html |agency=NJ.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2013-11-21 |title=New Jersey Homeless Man Ralph Santiago, Killed By Teens As Part of Horrific 'Knockout' Game |url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/11/21/knockout-game-new-horrific-youth-sport-that-nothing-short-deadly/ |agency=Fox News Latino}}</ref> In 2013, a series of these attacks resulted in the deaths of the victims, all with some sort of game as a precipitating factor. Michael Daniels, 51, of ] died a day after being attacked in May 2013, with the "knockout game" later mentioned in regard to his death.<ref>{{cite news|date=2013-05-30|title=A punch from nowhere, and Michael Daniels' rough life ends in a senseless beating|url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/05/michael_daniels_rough_life_end.html|agency=Syracuse.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/attacks-around-us-probed-knockout-game-215216013.html|title=Attacks around US probed for link to Knockout Game|agency=Associated Press|date=2013-11-21|accessdate=January 10, 2016}}</ref>


Ralph Santiago, a disabled homeless resident of ], was found dead after being attacked by three boys whose assault was linked to the "knockout" game.<ref>{{cite news|date=2013-09-23|title=Hoboken neighbors reeling after arrest of three young teens in murder of a disabled man|url=http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2013/09/hoboken_neighbors_still_reelin.html|agency=NJ.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=2013-11-21|title=New Jersey Homeless Man Ralph Santiago, Killed By Teens As Part of Horrific 'Knockout' Game|url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/11/21/knockout-game-new-horrific-youth-sport-that-nothing-short-deadly|agency=Fox News Latino}}</ref>
In the United States, '']'' noted "a growing log of reports of such crimes in the Northeast and beyond".<ref name=times /> A number of news stories in late November 2013 covered incidents in ], ], where a series of attacks took place, during October and November 2013.<ref name="DN CH">{{cite web|url=http://nydailynews.com/1.1514604 |title=NYPD investigating Crown Heights 'knockout' attacks on Jews as possible hate crimes - Daily News |publisher=Nydailynews.com |date= |accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref><ref name="jweek1">{{cite web|first=Jonathan |last=Mark |url=http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new-york-news/knockout-attacks-concern-crown-heights |title='Knockout' Attacks A Concern |publisher=The Jewish Week |date=2013-11-20 |accessdate=2013-11-30}}</ref><ref name="chinfo-11-12-13">{{cite web|url=http://crownheights.info/crime/410708/media-coverage-cbs-abc-report-on-knockout-jews-assaults/ |title=Media Coverage: CBS, ABC, NBC and Daily News Report on 'Knockout' Assaults &#124; CrownHeights.info – Chabad News, Crown Heights News, Lubavitch News |publisher=Crownheights.info |date=2013-11-12 |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref><ref name="DNA">{{cite web|url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131125/crown-heights/brooklyn-jewish-leaders-offer-1500-reward-for-knockout-game-arrests |title="Brooklyn Jewish leaders offer 1500 reward for knockout game arrests". '&#39;DNA.info'&#39;. Nov. 25, 2013 |publisher=Dnainfo.com |date=2013-11-22 |accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/crown-heights-knockout-the-jew-attacks-serial-hate-crimes/2013/11/14/ |title=Yanover, Yoni. "Crown Heights Knockout-the-Jew attacks serial hate crimes". '&#39;The Jewish Press'&#39;. Nov. 14, 2013 |publisher=Jewishpress.com |date= |accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref> As a result the NYPD responded by stepping up patrols in certain neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite web|author=By LIZ FIELDS and GILLIAN MOHNEY Liz Fields <!--empty--> |url=http://abcnews.go.com/US/knockout-game-suspect-charged-hate-crime/story?id=20992590 |title='Knockout Game' Suspect Charged With Hate Crime - ABC News |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=2013-11-24 |accessdate=2013-12-08}}</ref>


'']'' reported seven attacks during November 2013 in ], that could be associated with the knockout game. ]'s chief of police wrote an email to the campus community pertaining to the issue on November 21.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/12/05/police-respond-to-knockout-threat|title=Police respond to knockout threat|work=Yale Daily News|date=2013-12-05|accessdate=2013-12-08}}</ref>
==Precipitating factors==


In the United States, '']'' noted "a growing log of reports of such crimes in the Northeast and beyond".<ref name=times/> A number of news stories in late November 2013 covered incidents in ], where a series of attacks took place during October and November of that year.<ref name="DN CH">{{cite news|first=Thomas|last=Tracy|date=November 12, 2013|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/alleged-assaults-rock-crown-heights-article-1.1514604|title=NYPD investigating Crown Heights 'knockout' attacks on Jews as possible hate crimes|work=New York Daily News}}</ref><ref name="jweek1">{{cite web|first=Jonathan|last=Mark|url=http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new-york-news/knockout-attacks-concern-crown-heights|title='Knockout' Attacks A Concern|website=The Jewish Week|date=2013-11-20|accessdate=2013-11-30}}</ref><ref name="chinfo-11-12-13">{{cite web|url=http://crownheights.info/crime/410708/media-coverage-cbs-abc-report-on-knockout-jews-assaults|title=Media Coverage: CBS, ABC, NBC and Daily News Report on 'Knockout' Assaults|website=Crownheights.info|date=2013-11-12|accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref><ref name="DNA">{{cite web|first=Sonja|last=Sharp|date=November 25, 2013|url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131125/crown-heights/brooklyn-jewish-leaders-offer-1500-reward-for-knockout-game-arrests|title=Brooklyn Jewish Leaders Offer $1,500 Reward for 'Knockout Game' Arrests|website=DNAinfo|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126054253/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131125/crown-heights/brooklyn-jewish-leaders-offer-1500-reward-for-knockout-game-arrests|archivedate=November 26, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Yori|last=Yanover|url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/crown-heights-knockout-the-jew-attacks-serial-hate-crimes/2013/11/14|title=Crown Heights 'Knockout the Jew' Attacks Serial Hate Crimes|work=The Jewish Press|date=November 14, 2013}}</ref>
==="Game" ===
The existence of a growing trend of knockout attacks has been questioned; claims about the prevalence of the phenomenon have been called an "urban myth" and a "type of panic."<ref name=times /> Some media reports have specified that knockout attacks are "played" as a violent game. However, the "game" aspect is of questionable status; claims concerning attacks range from urban myths, random unprovoked acts of aggression to an actual "game".


As a result, the ] responded by stepping up patrols in certain neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Liz|last1=Fields|first2=Gillian|last2=Mohney|date=November 24, 2013 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/knockout-game-suspect-charged-hate-crime/story?id=20992590|title='Knockout Game' Suspect Charged With Hate Crime|work=ABC News|accessdate=January 10, 2016}}</ref>
A June 2011 investigative report by John Tucker of the '']'' following the death of Hoang Nguyen in 2011 saw many related attacks, all attributed to the "Knockout King" game. ] of the ] who also runs YouthFacts.org noted that the media has been cherry-picking related attacks for sensationalism concluding, "This knockout-game legend is a fake trend." A St. Louis area barber said that in his youth the phenomenon was not called "Knockout King" but "One Hitter Quitter". Police at the time, however, believed such attacks might have been underreported by immigrant victims from countries where the police were not trustworthy.<ref>{{cite web|author=John H. Tucker |url=http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2011-06-09/news/knockout-king-elex-murphy-hoang-nguyen-dutchtown-murder/full/ |title=Knockout King: Kids call it a game. Academics call it a bogus trend. Cops call it murder. - - News - St. Louis |publisher=Riverfront Times |date=2011-06-09 |accessdate=2013-12-04}}</ref>


On November 24, 2013, in ], an 81-year-old black man was attacked and hospitalized. Two weeks later, Conrad Alvin Barrett, 29, was arrested after allegedly showing an off-duty police officer a video he recorded with his cell phone of himself perpetrating the attack and explicitly referencing "knockout". Investigators revealed that there were other videos on his phone in which he used racial epithets and another in which he wondered if he would receive media attention if he were to commit a "knockout game" attack on a black man. This was one of the first cases in which the victim was black. Previous instances in the US primarily involved white or Asian victims and black assailants. The ] subsequently charged Barrett with a hate crime, the only time the DOJ involved itself in prosecuting these attacks. Barrett's attorney claimed his client suffers from ] and was not on medication at the time of the attack.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.khou.com/story/news/2014/07/24/12294464|title=Katy Man Charged With Hate Crime For Breaking Jaw Of Elderly Man In 'Knockout Game' Attack|publisher=]|date=December 26, 2013|access-date=October 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004162446/http://www.khou.com/story/news/2014/07/24/12294464/|archive-date=October 4, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abc13.com/archive/9372582/|title=Katy Man Charged With Hate Crime For Breaking Jaw Of Elderly Man In 'Knockout Game' Attack|website=Abclocal.go.com|date=2013-12-27|access-date=2014-01-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230002659/http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=9372582|archive-date=2013-12-30|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-man-charged-with-hate-crime-after-knockout-attack|title=Texas Man Charged With Hate Crime After 'Knockout' Attack|work=CBS News|date=December 27, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Jocelyn|last1=Lane|first2=Chelsea J.|last2=Carter|date=December 28, 2013|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/27/justice/texas-knockout-charge|title=FBI Agent Quotes Texas Man Bragging About 'Knockout, Baby!'|publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/27/22074834-texan-charged-with-hate-crime-for-knockout-game-hit-denied-bail?lite|title=Texan Charged With Hate Crime For 'Knockout Game' Hit Denied Bail|website=Usnews.nbcnews.com|date=2013-12-27|accessdate=2014-01-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Stephen|last=Dinan|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/26/federal-authorities-charge-white-knockout-suspect-|title=Federal Authorities Charge White 'Knockout' Suspect With Hate Crime|work=The Washington Times|date=December 26, 2013}}</ref> In October 2015, Barrett was sentenced to 71 months (5 years and 11 months) in federal incarceration. He also faced charges in state court.<ref name="George_chron1">{{cite news|url=http://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/katy/crime-courts/article/Defendant-in-hate-crime-sentenced-to-71-months-in-6575137.php|title=Defendant In Hate Crime Sentenced To 71 Months In Prison|last=George|first=Cindy|date=October 16, 2015|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|accessdate=December 1, 2015}}</ref>
An attack from 2012 in ], ] was tentatively linked to more recent attacks, although it was never identified as part of any "game".<ref name=cnn /> Police in Syracuse, New York, reported that one assailant in a fatal attack admitted to its being "knockout", with a police sergeant noting that the assaults he was investigating were definitely "for a game" rather than being attempted murders or robberies.<ref name=times>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/23/nyregion/knockout-game-a-spreading-menace-or-a-myth.html?_r=1& | title=Police Unsure if Random Attacks Are Rising Threat or Urban Myth | publisher=New York Times | accessdate=23 November 2013}}</ref> On November 23, ''The New York Times'' reported that police officials in New York City were considering their position on the "game" and were wondering if they should advise the public, but had to contend with the uncertain existence of the game.<ref name=times /> Police in New York City questioned whether they were faced with a trend or simply a series of isolated incidents.<ref name=cnn>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/22/justice/knockout-game-teen-assaults/ |title=Police keep close eye on reports of disturbing 'knockout' game - CNN.com |publisher=CNN |date=2013-11-22 |accessdate=2013-11-30}}</ref> New York Police Commissioner ] refused to refer to the attacks in Brooklyn as the "knockout game" to avoid possible copycat attacks.<ref name=msnphilly>{{cite web|url=http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/knockout-game-a-crime-trend-or-random-violence |title='Knockout game': A crime trend or random violence? |publisher=News.msn.com |date= |accessdate=2013-11-28}}</ref>


In December 2015, a Hispanic man in New Jersey was reported assaulted by a Hispanic teen playing the "knockout game". The perpetrator turned himself in two months later and was ultimately sentenced to three years incarceration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abc7ny.com/news/paterson-teen-allegedly-involved-in-knockout-game-facebook-video-turns-himself-in-/1190091|title=Teen allegedly involved in knockout game on Facebook video turns himself in|accessdate=August 20, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://abc7ny.com/news/paterson-teen-pleads-guilty-in-knockout-game-punch-attack/1492487/|title=Paterson teen pleads guilty in 'knockout game' punch seen on Facebook|accessdate=July 22, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Kristian Gonzalez sentenced to 3 years for 'knock-out attack' of Paterson man | website=News 12 New Jersey | date=2016-09-30 | url=http://newjersey.news12.com/story/34866393/kristian-gonzalez-sentenced-to-3-years-for-knock-out-attack-of-paterson-man | access-date=2020-06-30}}</ref>
Many officials have outright refused to refer to the assaults as a "game", with Philadelphia Mayor ] explicitly stating he did not want to give the idea any credibility while at a press conference after an attack at a Philadelphia pizzeria where the suspects never mentioned the game following the event.


On July 27, 2016, in ], Italian police arrested a young Spaniard on vacation in Italy, after he made repeated assaults on passersby, similar to this "game".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2016/07/28/actualidad/1469716920_604398.html|title=Detenido en Milán un joven español que golpeaba sin motivo a los transeúntes|work=El País |date=July 27, 2016 |last1=Ordaz |first1=Pablo }}</ref> On that same date, in ] a man was attacked while playing '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/crime/2016/07/29/police-investigate-attempted-murder-peace-center-plaza/87756626/?kwp_0=193178&kwp_4=759897&kwp_1=382121|title=Police investigate attempted murder at Peace Center Plaza|website=Greenvilleonline.com|date=2016-07-30|accessdate=2016-08-21}}</ref>
Several assaults associated with the "knockout game" do not follow any particular pattern; in several instances a single assailant attempted a one-punch attack, while in others multiple assailants participated in a gang attack. The "Knockout King" death of Nguyen in St. Louis was such a gang attack, and an alleged trend in ], called "point 'em out, knock 'em out" involved the use of a ].<ref name=msnphilly />


On August 29, 2016, a 30-year-old ]n, Mardoquo Sincal Jochola, was fatally assaulted in Philadelphia and is alleged to have been a victim of the "knockout game".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/08/29/victim-of-lawncrest-attack-dies-from-injuries|title=Police Consider 'Knockout Game' A Possibility In Fatal Lawncrest Attack|date=29 August 2016 |accessdate=August 29, 2016}}</ref>
Jesse Singal of the '']'' noted that several of the news reports on the knockout game were dubiously sourced to YouTube videos in which many attacks were not on unsuspecting victims. He also found one example of an attack by a 35-year-old man on a woman in ] rather than it being a teenager in an American urban center. When Singal approached an ] affiliate, his contact revealed that the video was shared among related stations rather than being originally investigated and that he was not aware of the context, as it was not noted on the video file, leading Singal to conclude that the American public was being unintentionally misled about these attacks.<ref>{{cite web|last=Singal |first=Jesse |url=http://www.cjr.org/minority_reports/knockout_video_misuse.php?page=all |title='Knockout' reports illustrated with unrelated footage : Columbia Journalism Review |publisher=] |date=2013-11-27 |accessdate=2013-12-04}}</ref>


On July 31, 2017, an unidentified man was caught on camera while knocking out a 24-year-old woman, Yana Rozanova, in ], Ukraine.<ref>{{cite news|title=На Украине прохожий, ударив девушку по лицу, отправил ее в нокаут (ВИДЕО)|url=http://www.newsru.com/crime/09aug2017/knockout24ywomukr.html|work=]|date=August 9, 2017|accessdate=August 9, 2017|language=ru}}</ref>
] reported seven attacks during November 2013 in ], ] that could be associated with the knockout game. ]'s Chief of Police also wrote an email to the campus community pertaining to the issue on November 21.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/12/05/police-respond-to-knockout-threat/ |title=Police respond to knockout threat |publisher=Yale Daily News |date= |accessdate=2013-12-08}}</ref>


On October 1, 2020, alongside ], an unidentified black man was caught on surveillance video assaulting 67-year-old actor ] with a single blow to the head.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/10/03/rick-moranis-random-attack-on-upper-west-side/|title=NYPD: Actor Rick Moranis Victim of Unprovoked Attack Caught On Camera In Manhattan|work=]|date=October 3, 2020|accessdate=October 3, 2020}}</ref>
===Race===
In the coverage of the attacks in 2013, some conservative political commentators have focused on racial factors, alleging that the crimes are being committed primarily by ] youth and criticizing the media for ignoring the alleged racial nature of these attacks.<ref name=susteren>{{cite web|url=http://nation.foxnews.com/2013/11/19/greta-knockout-game-no-laughing-matter-where-are-jesse-jackson-al-sharpton-and-others |title=Greta: 'Knockout Game' No Laughing Matter ... Where Are Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Others? - Fox Nation |publisher=] |date=2013-11-19 |accessdate=2013-11-30}}</ref> ] of the ] described the "Knockout" attacks as "another example of young black Americans committing senseless crimes" and expressed disappointment "they are getting precious little attention" in the media.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=19 November 2013 |title=The 'Knockout' game |url=http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/2013/11/20/knockout-game |agency=Fox News Channel}}</ref> In response to the prevalence in the media, ] on November 23 in a piece called ''Knockout Games -- The Biggest Form of Cowardice''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-al-sharpton/knockout-games_b_4340317.html |title=Knockout Games - The Biggest Form of Cowardice &#124; Rev. Al Sharpton |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date=2013-11-25 |accessdate=2013-12-08}}</ref> condemned the attacks, as he noted the black community would not be silent if they were the victims.<ref name=sharpton>{{cite web|last1=Roberts |first1=Georgett |last2=Gartland |first2=Michael |url=http://nypost.com/2013/11/23/al-sharpton-condemns-knockout-attacks/ |title=Al Sharpton condemns 'knockout' attacks &#124; New York Post |publisher=Nypost.com |date=2013-11-23 |accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref>


==Antisemitic components==
Jeffrey Butts, the director of ]'s Research and Evaluation Center at the ] (CUNY), stated that "There's an element to who wants to see this through the lens of race" and that the fear stems from racial roots.<ref name=times /> On November 25, Emma Roller of '']'' and Jamelle Bouie of '']'' remarked that in a number of news reports, focus was specifically paid to attacks on white victims with the suspects being young black men. Roller and Bouie also questioned figures used to show that the event is spreading, with Roller further questioning the validity of ] videos as evidence for the knockout game.<ref name=slate /><ref name=beast /> Those critical of the existence of the trend have pointed out that the aspect of race appears to be hyped by bloggers who want to highlight attacks on whites by black suspects.<ref name=msnphilly />
Several attacks on ] victims in ] in 2013 have been called ] hate crimes.<ref name=nbcpolar>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Knockout-Game-Polar-Bearing-Hate-Crimes-Punch-Slap-Video-232695381.html|title=Police Added in Brooklyn Neighborhood Amid "Knockout Game" Attacks|publisher=]|date=2013-11-20|accessdate=2013-11-23}}</ref><ref name=cbspolar>{{cite web|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/11/23/4-held-in-latest-alleged-knockout-game-attack-in-brooklyn|title=Man Charged In Latest Alleged 'Knockout Game' Attack In Brooklyn|publisher=]|date=2013-11-23|accessdate=2014-01-07}}</ref> '']'' reported that New York City police believed that antisemitism was likely to be a motive in the attacks, as all eight victims were identified as Jewish.<ref name=nightline>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/sucker-punch-spike-knockout-game-attacks-21013587|title=Sucker Punch: Possible Spike in 'Knockout Game' Attacks|work=]|date=2013-11-26|accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref>


Jewish community leaders in Brooklyn have spoken out on the subject,<ref name="DNA"/><ref name=Cnn1>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/22/justice/knockout-game-teen-assaults|title=Police keep close eye on 'knockout' game|publisher=CNN|accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref> and the ] regional office issued a public statement on knockout attacks "targeting Jewish individuals in Brooklyn".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newyork.adl.org/news/adl-statement-on-knockout-attacks-in-brooklyn|title=ADL statement|publisher=Anti-Defamation League|date=2013-11-21|accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref> Amrit Marajh, a 28-year-old suspect in an attack that took place in Brooklyn, was charged with a hate crime as his victim was Jewish.<ref name=nbcpolar/><ref name=jweek1/><ref>{{cite web|url =https://news.yahoo.com/knockout-game-suspect-charged-hate-crime-100039465--abc-news-topstories.html|title='Knockout Game' Suspect Charged With Hate Crime|last1=Fields|first1=Liz|last2=Mahoney|first2=Gillian|date=November 24, 2013|website=Yahoo.com|accessdate=November 24, 2013}}</ref> Marajh has claimed innocence and denied the claims of antisemitism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latinopost.com/articles/1340/20131125/knockout-attack-suspect-charged-with-hate-crime-says-hes-not-anti-semitic.htm|title='Knockout' Attack Suspect Charged With Hate Crime Says He's Not Anti-Semitic|website=Latino Post|date=2013-11-17|accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref>
===Antisemitism===
Several attacks on ] victims in Brooklyn in 2013 have been called antisemitic hate crimes.<ref name=nbcpolar>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Knockout-Game-Polar-Bearing-Hate-Crimes-Punch-Slap-Video-232695381.html |title=Police Added in Brooklyn Neighborhood Amid "Knockout Game" Attacks |publisher=] |date=2013-11-20 |accessdate=2013-11-23}}</ref><ref name=nypostpolar>{{cite web|last=Velez |first=Natasha |url=http://nypost.com/2013/11/22/nypd-hate-crime-unit-probing-brooklyn-knockout-attack/ |title=Jewish man clocked in 'knockout' attack &#124; New York Post |publisher=] |date=2013-11-22 |accessdate=2013-11-23}}</ref><ref name=cbspolar>{{cite web|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/11/22/4-men-arrested-in-alleged-knockout-attack-in-brooklyn/ |title=4 Men Arrested In Apparent 'Knockout' Attack In Brooklyn - CBS New York |publisher=] |date=2013-11-22 |accessdate=2013-11-23}}</ref> ] reported that New York City police believed that antisemitism was likely to be a motive in the attacks, as all eight victims were identified as Jewish.<ref name=nightline>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/sucker-punch-spike-knockout-game-attacks-21013587 |title=Sucker Punch: Possible Spike in 'Knockout Game' Attacks " ABC News |publisher=] |date=2013-11-26 |accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref> Jewish community leaders in Brooklyn have spoken out on the subject,<ref name="DNA"/><ref name=Cnn1>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/22/justice/knockout-game-teen-assaults/ |title=Winsor, Morgan. "Police keep close eye on 'knockout' game". '&#39;CNN'&#39;. Nov. 24, 2013 |publisher=Cnn.com |date= |accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref> and the ] regional office issued a public statement on Knockout attacks "targeting Jewish individuals in Brooklyn".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newyork.adl.org/news/adl-statement-on-knockout-attacks-in-brooklyn/ |title='&#39;ADL statement'&#39; |publisher=Newyork.adl.org |date=2013-11-21 |accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref> A 28-year-old suspect in an attack that took place in Brooklyn was charged with a hate crime as his victim was Jewish, which has potential to greatly increase consequences over a charge of simple assault.<ref name=nbcpolar /><ref name=jweek1 /><ref>{{cite web |url =http://news.yahoo.com/knockout-game-suspect-charged-hate-crime-100039465--abc-news-topstories.html |title ='Knockout Game' Suspect Charged With Hate Crime|last1 =Fields |first1=Liz |last2=Mahoney |first2=Gillian |date= 2013, November 24 |website =Yahoo.com |accessdate =2013, November 24}}</ref> The man has claimed innocence and denied the claims of antisemitism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latinopost.com/articles/1340/20131125/knockout-attack-suspect-charged-with-hate-crime-says-hes-not-anti-semitic.htm |title='Knockout' Attack Suspect Charged With Hate Crime Says He's Not Anti-Semitic : Local |publisher=Latino Post |date=2013-11-17 |accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref>


On December 3 newly elected NYC councilwoman ] added a letter to her Facebook page, saying,"The accomplishments of the Jewish community triggers feelings of resentment, and a sense that Jewish success is not also their success." The Anti-Defamation League said her post was "troubling" and that it evoked "classic anti-Semitic stereotypes."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/councilwoman-black-jewish-resentment-talk-slammed-article-1.1538099 |title=NYC councilwoman's talk of black-Jewish resentment, 'knockouts' called racist |publisher=NY Daily News |date=2013-10-21 |accessdate=2013-12-08}}</ref> NYPD Commissioner ] later stated that he was avoiding referring to the attacks as part of any sort of trend to avoid further copycat attacks and has instead been labeling them as hate crimes.<ref name=msnphilly /> On December 3, newly elected black ] New York City councilwoman ] added a letter to her Facebook page saying: "The accomplishments of the Jewish community triggers feelings of resentment, and a sense that Jewish success is not also their success." The Anti-Defamation League said her post was "troubling" and that it evoked "classic anti-Semitic stereotypes."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/councilwoman-black-jewish-resentment-talk-slammed-article-1.1538099|title=NYC councilwoman's talk of black-Jewish resentment, 'knockouts' called racist|newspaper=NY Daily News|date=2013-10-21|accessdate=2013-12-08|location=New York}}</ref> Cumbo later issued an apology for the remarks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=28096&alias=cumbo-regrets-her-knockout|title=Cumbo Regrets Her Knockout|website=Collive.com|date=2013-12-10|accessdate=2013-12-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://crownheights.info/crown-heights-news/416795/councilwoman-apologizes-for-insensitive-comments|title=Councilwoman Apologizes for Insensitive Comments|website=Crownheights.info|date=2013-12-10|accessdate=2013-12-11}}</ref> Cumbo added that the lives of victims and suspects will never be the same and that attackers would be "prosecuted to the full extent of the law".<ref name="hamodia"/> NYPD Commissioner ] later stated that he was avoiding referring to the attacks as part of any sort of trend to avoid further copycat attacks and has instead been labeling them as hate crimes.<ref name=msnphilly/>


==Response== ==Response==

===Government action=== ===Government action===
====New York====
On November 21, 2013<ref name="cbslocal1">{{cite web|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/11/21/new-york-lawmaker-targets-knockout-game-with-new-bill/ |title=New York Lawmaker Targets 'Knockout Game' With New Bill « CBS New York |publisher=Newyork.cbslocal.com |date=2013-11-21 |accessdate=2013-12-08}}</ref> ] ] ] put forward legislation called the "Knockout Assault Deterrent Act"<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/22/justice/knockout-game-teen-assaults/ |title=Police keep close eye on reports of disturbing 'knockout' game |publisher=CNN.com |date= |accessdate=2013-12-08}}</ref> explicitly referencing "knockout" in order to charge juvenile offenders in these type of attacks as adults, legislation would also punish those who were found recording the attacks.<ref name="cbslocal1"/><ref name=cnn /> Republican ] ] supports legislation that would make assailants linked to the "knockout game" liable for harsher sentences, would try juvenile offenders as adults, and would make accomplices criminally responsible.<ref name=cnn /><ref name=wynt>{{cite web|url=http://wnyt.com/article/stories/s3228303.shtml |title=Bill would crack down on "Knockout Game" assaults |publisher=WNYT.com |date=2013-11-25 |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref> Democratic assemblyman ], while admitting he feels stiffer penalties were warranted, said, however, that Tedisco's bill was not necessary.<ref name=wynt /> Republican Wisconsin State Assemblyman ] also considered drafting a bill to deter attacks.<ref>{{cite web|author=The Associated Press |url=http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_24612688/kaufert-considers-bill-targeting-knockout-game |title=Kaufert considers bill targeting 'knockout game' |publisher=TwinCities.com |date=2013-11-27 |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref> On November 21, 2013<ref name="cbslocal1">{{cite web|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/11/21/new-york-lawmaker-targets-knockout-game-with-new-bill|title=New York Lawmaker Targets 'Knockout Game' With New Bill|website=Newyork.cbslocal.com|date=2013-11-21|accessdate=2013-12-08}}</ref> ] ] ] put forward legislation called the "Knockout Assault Deterrent Act"<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/22/justice/knockout-game-teen-assaults|title=Police keep close eye on reports of disturbing 'knockout' game|publisher=CNN|accessdate=2013-12-08}}</ref> to charge ]s in these type of attacks as adults, and would also punish those who were found recording the attacks.<ref name="cbslocal1"/><ref name=cnn/> ] ] (also a Republican) supports legislation that would make assailants linked to the knockout game liable to harsher sentences, would try juvenile offenders as adults, and would make accomplices criminally responsible.<ref name=cnn/><ref name=wynt>{{cite web|url=http://wnyt.com/article/stories/s3228303.shtml|title=Bill would crack down on "Knockout Game" assaults|publisher=WNYT|date=2013-11-25|accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref> Democratic assemblyman John McDonald, while admitting stiffer penalties were warranted claimed Tedisco's bill was unnecessary.<ref name=wynt/>

====Wisconsin====
In ], Republican State Assemblyman ] said he was considering drafting a bill to deter attacks.<!--any results?--><ref>{{cite web|author=The Associated Press|url=http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_24612688/kaufert-considers-bill-targeting-knockout-game|title=Kaufert considers bill targeting 'knockout game'|website=TwinCities.com|date=2013-11-27|accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref>


===Communities=== ===Communities===
After incidents during late 2013 in Brooklyn in which Jews were victims of knockout attacks, Jewish leaders, councilmembers, and organization representatives spoke against the attacks.<ref name="DNA"/><ref name="hamodia">{{cite web|last=Donn|first=Yochonon|url=http://hamodia.com/2013/11/25/black-leaders-uniting-condemn-knockouts|title=Black Leaders Uniting to Condemn Knockouts|website=Hamodia.com|accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref><ref name="Israel National News">{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174339|title=NY Jewish Leader: Working to Stop "Knockout Game"|website=]|date=2013-11-22|accessdate=2013-12-02}}</ref>


Leaders from the black community also made statements. New York City councilman ] stated that the root of the problem was a need for jobs to keep young people out of trouble; he also suggested additional funding for community patrols to act as ]s.<ref name="lack of job">{{cite web|url=http://brooklyn.news12.com/news/community-leaders-in-east-new-york-blame-lack-of-jobs-for-knockout-game-violence-1.6507548|title=Community leaders in East New York blame lack of jobs for knockout game violence|website=Brooklyn.news12.com|date=2013-11-27|accessdate=2013-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203005559/http://brooklyn.news12.com/news/community-leaders-in-east-new-york-blame-lack-of-jobs-for-knockout-game-violence-1.6507548|archive-date=2013-12-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> Representative ] said at a Crown Heights Youth Collective conference that attacks based on race will not be tolerated and that the collective will do everything in its power to see that justice is done.<ref name="hamodia"/> Brooklyn's then-]-elect ] called out the attacks, saying that "there is no status to be gained" for knocking out an unsuspecting victim and that such violence will not be tolerated. Brooklyn Borough President-elect ] affirmed Thompson's statement, saying that, if you "play this game, ... you will lose".<ref name="hamodia"/>
After incidents during late 2013 in Brooklyn, in which Jews were victims of knockout attacks, Jewish leaders, councilmen, and organization representatives spoke against the attacks.<ref name="DNA"/><ref name="hamodia">{{cite web|last=Donn |first=Yochonon |url=http://hamodia.com/2013/11/25/black-leaders-uniting-condemn-knockouts/ |title=Black Leaders Uniting to Condemn Knockouts - Hamodia |publisher=Hamodia.com |date= |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref><ref name="Israel National News">{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174339 |title=NY Jewish Leader: Working to Stop "Knockout Game" - News from America - News |publisher=Israel National News |date=2013-11-22 |accessdate=2013-12-02}}</ref>


Other notable New York City community members who have spoken against the attacks include Reverend ],<ref name="Muskal">{{cite news |last=Muskal |first=Michael |title=Texan faces hate-crime charges in 'knockout game' case |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-texas-knockout-game-20131227-story.html |url-access=limited |work=Los Angeles Times |date=27 December 2013}}</ref> ],<ref name="hamodia2">{{cite web|last=Donn|first=Yochonon|url=http://hamodia.com/2013/11/19/jewish-black-leaders-meet-crown-heights-crime|title=Jewish, Black Leaders Meet Over Crown Heights Crime|website=Hamodia|date=2013-11-19|accessdate=2013-12-02}}</ref> ], ] founder Rabbi ], former NYC mayor ] and former New Orleans mayor and current ] president ] released a video in December 2013 saying "No to K.O."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/205079/video-firmer-nyc-mayor-david-dinkins-releases-video-to-condemn-knockout-attacks.html|title=Video: Former NYC Mayor David Dinkins Releases Video To Condemn 'Knockout Attacks'|website=theyeshivaworld.com|date=2013-12-04|accessdate=2013-12-08}}</ref> Retired Brooklyn-born ] ] has also spoken against the attacks on '']''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/27/mike-tyson-on-knockout-game-theres-just-some-evil-people|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131128093854/http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/27/mike-tyson-on-knockout-game-theres-just-some-evil-people/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 28, 2013|title=Mike Tyson on 'Knockout' game: 'There's just some evil people'|work=The Piers Morgan Interview|first=Jason|last=Kurtz|date=2013-11-27|accessdate=2013-12-28}}</ref>
Leaders from the African-American community also made statements, City Councilman ] saying that the root of the problem was a need for jobs to keep young people out of trouble; he also suggested additional funding for community patrols to act as ]s.<ref name="lack of job">{{cite web|url=http://brooklyn.news12.com/news/community-leaders-in-east-new-york-blame-lack-of-jobs-for-knockout-game-violence-1.6507548 |title="Community leaders in East New York blame lack of jobs for knockout game violence" |publisher=Brooklyn.news12.com |date=2013-11-27 |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref> Representative ] said at a Crown Heights Youth Collective conference that attacked based on race will not be tolerated and that they will do everything in their power to see justice is done.<ref name="hamodia"/> Brooklyn ]-elect ] also called out the attacks, saying that "there is no status to be gained" for knocking out an unsuspecting victim and such violence will not be tolerated.<ref name="hamodia"/> Brooklyn Borough President-elect ] affirmed Thompson's statement, saying "play this game, and you will lose". Councilmember-elect Laurie Cumbo added that people's lives will never be the same as a result, victims and suspects both, as she stated that attackers would be "prosecuted to the full extent of the law".<ref name="hamodia"/>


==Criticism of reporting==
Other notable NYC community members who have spoken out against the attacks include Reverend Al Sharpton<ref name=sharpton /> and ].<ref name="hamodia2">{{cite web|last=Donn |first=Yochonon |url=http://hamodia.com/2013/11/19/jewish-black-leaders-meet-crown-heights-crime/ |title=Jewish, Black Leaders Meet Over Crown Heights Crime |publisher=Hamodia |date=2013-11-19 |accessdate=2013-12-02}}</ref> Al Sharpton, ], and ] founder Rabbi ] spoke out against the attacks, as did <ref>{{cite web|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/12/04/sharpton-other-civil-rights-leaders-launch-fight-against-knockout-game/ |title=Sharpton, Civil Rights Leaders Launch Fight Against 'Knockout Game' « CBS New York |publisher=Newyork.cbslocal.com |date=2013-12-04 |accessdate=2013-12-08}}</ref> former New Orleans mayor and current ] president ] and former NYC mayor ].
The existence of a growing trend of knockout attacks has been questioned; claims about the prevalence of the phenomenon have been called an "urban myth" and a "type of panic" by some political analysts.<ref name=times/>

A June 2011 investigative report by John Tucker of the '']'' following the death of Hoang Nguyen in 2011 saw many related attacks, all attributed to the "Knockout King" game. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Daniel Isom stated that a year prior the police determined that the knockout game was played by a group of children who went around trying to knock random people unconscious. The police estimated the activity was not widespread and limited to five or nine teens. In Tucker's interviews with local teens, they believed the number to be much higher; one 18-year-old estimated 10-15% of his peers played the game. A St. Louis area barber said that in his youth the phenomenon was not called "Knockout King" but "One Hitter Quitter". ] of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice claimed that the media has been cherry-picking related attacks for sensationalism, asserting that "This knockout-game legend is a fake trend." Police at the time believed such attacks might have been under-reported by immigrant victims in communities where relations with law enforcement had been tense.<ref>{{cite web|author=John H. Tucker|url=http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2011-06-09/news/knockout-king-elex-murphy-hoang-nguyen-dutchtown-murder/full|title=Knockout King: Kids call it a game. Academics call it a bogus trend. Cops call it murder|work=Riverfront Times|date=2011-06-09|accessdate=2013-12-04}}</ref>

An attack from 2012 in ], was tentatively linked to more recent attacks, although it was never identified as part of any "game".<ref name=cnn/> Police in ], reported that one assailant in a fatal attack admitted to its being "knockout", with a police sergeant noting that the assaults he was investigating were definitely "for a game" rather than being attempted murders or robberies.<ref name=times>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/23/nyregion/knockout-game-a-spreading-menace-or-a-myth.html |url-access=limited |title=Police Unsure if Random Attacks Are Rising Threat or Urban Myth |newspaper=The New York Times |accessdate=23 November 2013 |first=Cara |last=Buckley |date=22 November 2013}}</ref>

On November 23, 2013, ''The New York Times'' reported that police officials in New York City were considering their position on the "game" and were wondering if they should advise the public, but had to contend with the uncertain existence of the game.<ref name=times/> Police in New York City questioned whether they were faced with a trend or a series of isolated incidents.<ref name=cnn>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/22/justice/knockout-game-teen-assaults|title=Police keep close eye on reports of disturbing 'knockout' game|publisher=CNN|date=2013-11-22|accessdate=2013-11-30}}</ref> Then-New York Police Commissioner ] refused to refer to the attacks in Brooklyn as the "knockout game" to avoid possible copycat attacks.<ref name=msnphilly>{{cite web|url=http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/knockout-game-a-crime-trend-or-random-violence|title='Knockout game': A crime trend or random violence?|website=News.msn.com|accessdate=2013-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129102549/http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/knockout-game-a-crime-trend-or-random-violence|archive-date=2013-11-29|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Several assaults associated with the knockout game do not follow any particular pattern; in several instances, a single assailant attempted a one-punch attack while in others multiple assailants participated in a gang attack. The "Knockout King" death of Nguyen in St. Louis was such a gang attack. A purported trend was identified in ], called "point 'em out, knock 'em out" involved the use of a ].<ref name=msnphilly/>

Many officials have outright refused to refer to the assaults as a "game", with Philadelphia Mayor ] explicitly stating he did not want to give the idea any credibility while at a press conference after an attack at a Philadelphia pizzeria where the suspects never mentioned the game.<ref name=msnphilly/> In a ] interview with ], Nutter stated he was not sure if the knockout game is real or not, adding he less concerned about the name but saying the incidents are of "great concern" and could spark copycat behavior. Nutter would not answer if the attacks were racially motivated and stated that Philadelphia has no confirmed "game" incidents.<ref>{{cite web|first=Simon|last=van Zuylen-Wood|url=http://www.phillymag.com/news/2013/12/04/mike-nutter-cnn-dont-know-knockout-game-real|title=Mike Nutter on CNN: I Don't Know If Knockout Game Is Real|website=Phillymag.com|date=2013-12-04|accessdate=2013-12-09}}</ref> Earlier, Philadelphia Police spokeswoman Tanya Little determined a November 11 attack as part of a knockout game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/2013-11-24/news/44391897_1_knockout-game-south-philadelphia-assault|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131209095652/http://articles.philly.com/2013-11-24/news/44391897_1_knockout-game-south-philadelphia-assault|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 9, 2013|title=Police: Recent assault was 'knockout game'|website=Articles.philly.com|date=2013-11-24|accessdate=2013-12-09}}</ref>

] of '']'' was critical of the game's existence as a trend, comparing its existence to the "wilding" assault allegedly at hand in the ] and the often reported ]. Although several people were attacked and one had died, Bouie pointed out that the attacks were not really rare, noting the FBI had reported 127,577 unarmed assaults in 2012.<ref name=beast>{{cite web|last=Bouie|first=Jamelle|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/25/guess-what-the-knockout-game-is-america-s-latest-phony-panic.html|title=Guess What? The 'Knockout Game' Is America's Latest Phony Panic|website=]|date=2013-11-25|accessdate=2013-11-26}}</ref>

Journalist ] investigated the issue, and found that there was "in fact evidence to support the existence of a teen activity called Knockout—it’s not as though this is a media-manufactured hoax." At the same time, Singal noted that the motives were unknown for much of the "random, pointless violence" the media were associating with the game, and that despite widespread coverage of "young black men attacking people", there were no hard data on the extent of the actual "game". He revealed that CCTV footage of a man punching a woman from behind which aired on several local television stations in the US was in fact from ]. Singal concluded that, due to sometimes careless reporting, media coverage created a risk of "sparking unnecessary panic, some of it race-driven."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Singal|first=Jesse|url=https://www.cjr.org/minority_reports/knockout_video_misuse.php?page=all|title='Knockout' reports illustrated with unrelated footage: Columbia Journalism Review|magazine=]|date=2013-11-27|accessdate=2013-12-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2013-02-25 |title=East London man jailed for random attacks on teenage girl and student |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/feb/25/east-london-man-jailed-attacks |access-date=2022-10-12 |work=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

], host of ]'s '']'', gave the knockout game his first annual "Over-Covered Stories of the Year" award, due to what he perceived as excessive coverage by Fox News.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wilstein|first=Matt|url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/chris-hayes-blames-fox-news-for-2013s-most-over-covered-story|title=Chris Hayes Blames Fox News for 2013′s Most 'Over-Covered' Story|website=]|date=2013-12-24}}</ref>

Robin Abcarian for the '']'' criticized this reporting style by a conservative analyst, saying that blame was shifted onto the federal government. Abcarian noted that Barrett explicitly stated he was seeking a black victim, and postulated that he may have been acting on this "lazy narrative that black teens were randomly attacking white people". She criticized the statement by Sharpton and the conservative news sources, which agreed with him after decades of opposition.<ref name=abcariancrazy>{{cite news |first=Robin |last=Abcarian |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-xpm-2013-dec-30-la-me-ln-why-this-version-of-the-knockout-game-makes-conservatives-crazy-20131230-story.html |url-access=limited |title=Why this version of the 'knockout game' makes conservatives crazy |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 30, 2013 |accessdate=January 4, 2014}}</ref> Abcarian criticized the reporting of this attack as possibly being related to the knockout game trend, as the alleged attackers sought out Patterson because he was gay rather than because he is black. She also brought up a case of a fabrication of a "knockout"-style attack, after the victim and her boyfriend revealed she had lied that she was attacked at random by a stranger and instead he had struck her, noting that the '']'' did not report the initial attack as a "knockout game" attack.<ref>{{cite web|last=Byers|first=Christine|url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/woman-made-up-knockout-game-story-after-boyfriend-hit-her/article_3d614541-f78d-51e8-95a9-98bcd8507e61.html|title=Woman made up 'knockout game' story after boyfriend hit her, St. Louis police say|website=Stltoday.com|date=2013-12-06|accessdate=2014-01-04}}</ref> Abcarian claimed that the 2011 attack by Dajour Washington on James Addlesburger was being used for ]. The video of the assault was shown by ], which Addlesburger felt was being exploited and manipulated to fan racial hatred. Washington, who spent nine months in juvenile detention for the attack, appeared on '']'' in 2013 and claimed he had not attacked Addlesburger because he was white but rather because he was the only man present. Washington also claimed that at the time of the attack he had never heard of the "knockout game".<ref name=abcarianfaux>{{cite news |last=Abcarian |first=Robin |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-knockout-game-faux-media-trend-20131211-story.html |url-access=limited |title=The 'knockout game' faux media trend has finally jumped the shark |work=Los Angeles Times |date=12 December 2013 |accessdate=4 January 2014}}</ref>

Tommy Christopher, writing for ], claimed ]'s report for ] on the attack was misleading, noting claims made by Rosen that it is the first such attack to be charged as a hate crime, when it was the first under federal statute. Christopher cited the arrest of Amrit Marajh in Brooklyn and the investigation of the alleged assault on Taj Patterson, a gay black man who claimed he was attacked by a group of Orthodox Jewish men, as proof of this.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-airs-inaccurate-report-on-media-fueled-knockout-game-hate-crime-against-elderly-black-man|title=Fox Airs Misleading Report on 'Knockout Game' Hate Crime Against Elderly Black Man|website=Mediaite|date=2013-11-23|accessdate=2014-01-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/black-student-hasidic-men-attacked-williamsburg-article-1.1542946|title=Black fashion student says Hasidic men attacked him, shouted anti-gay slurs in Williamsburg|newspaper=NY Daily News|date=2013-12-10|accessdate=2014-01-04|location=New York}}</ref>


==References== ==References==
{{reflist|2}} {{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal|last1=King|first1=Mike|title=The 'knockout game': moral panic and the politics of white victimhood|journal=Race & Class|date=2015|volume=56|issue=4|pages=85–94|doi=10.1177/0306396814567411|s2cid=145676208}}


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Latest revision as of 01:09, 10 January 2025

Type of random assault to passersby This article is about the form of assault. For other uses, see Knockout game (disambiguation).

"Knockout game" is one of the names given in the United States for assaults in which a person (with others acting as accomplices or lookouts) attempts to make an unsuspecting victim lose consciousness with a single sucker punch. The assaults have similarities to the happy slapping trend seen in Europe, in which camera phones are used to record assaults. Other names given to assaults of this type include "knockout", "knockout king", "point 'em out, knock 'em out", and "polar-bearing" or "polar-bear hunting" (called such when the victim is white and the assailants are black). Serious injuries and even deaths have been attributed to the knockout game. Some news sources report that there was an escalation of such attacks in late 2013, and, in some cases, the attacker was charged with a hate crime.

History of attacks

The "Knockout game" became known after the murder of Yngve Raustein in 1992. Before 1992, the act of attacking and trying to "knock out" a person for entertainment also existed and was given different names, such as "wilding" or "One-Hitter Quitter" in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In September 1992, Norwegian exchange student Yngve Raustein was killed by three teenagers who, according to Cambridge, Massachusetts, prosecutors, were playing a game called "knockout". Raustein was stabbed after falling to the ground. Local teens said that the object is to render an unsuspecting target unconscious with a single punch, and, if the assailant does not succeed, his companions will turn on him instead.

In 2005 in the United Kingdom, BBC News reported on the happy slapping incidents, in which the attacks were filmed for the purpose of posting online. The French government responded to this trend by making it illegal to film any acts of violence and post them online, with a spokesperson for then President Nicolas Sarkozy saying that the law was indeed directed at "happy slapping."

Three teens were arrested in Decatur, Illinois, in September 2009, and charged in the killing of a bicyclist, 61, who was stomped to death, and the attempted murder of another man, 46, who was also attacked and stomped. It was claimed that the teens were playing "point 'em out, knock 'em out," where a person is selected and a group of attackers attempts to render the victim unconscious.

In June 2009, a 29-year-old man was beaten in a Columbia, Missouri, parking garage by a group of teens who told police that they were playing a game called "knockout king," where they would find an unsuspecting person and attempt to knock him out with a single punch.

In April 2011, Hoang Nguyen, 72, died in St. Louis, Missouri, after he was attacked in what was described by a local CBS station as "part of the so-called knockout game". Nguyen's wife, Yen, 62, was injured. After the trial, the assailant, Elex Murphy, who was 18 at the time of the assault, was sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years.

In July 2012, 62-year-old Delfino Mora was attacked by three men and killed in West Rogers Park, Chicago. Anthony Malcolm, 20, who recorded the attack on his cell phone and publicized it, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Nicholas Ayala, 18, was sentenced to 27 years. The third, Malik Jones, 21, was sentenced to 33 years. The attack was said to be part of a game called "pick 'em out, knock 'em out."

In 2013, a series of these attacks resulted in the deaths of the victims, all with some sort of game as a precipitating factor. Michael Daniels, 51, of Syracuse, New York died a day after being attacked in May 2013, with the "knockout game" later mentioned in regard to his death.

Ralph Santiago, a disabled homeless resident of Hoboken, New Jersey, was found dead after being attacked by three boys whose assault was linked to the "knockout" game.

Yale Daily News reported seven attacks during November 2013 in New Haven, Connecticut, that could be associated with the knockout game. Yale University's chief of police wrote an email to the campus community pertaining to the issue on November 21.

In the United States, The New York Times noted "a growing log of reports of such crimes in the Northeast and beyond". A number of news stories in late November 2013 covered incidents in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where a series of attacks took place during October and November of that year.

As a result, the NYPD responded by stepping up patrols in certain neighborhoods.

On November 24, 2013, in Katy, Texas, an 81-year-old black man was attacked and hospitalized. Two weeks later, Conrad Alvin Barrett, 29, was arrested after allegedly showing an off-duty police officer a video he recorded with his cell phone of himself perpetrating the attack and explicitly referencing "knockout". Investigators revealed that there were other videos on his phone in which he used racial epithets and another in which he wondered if he would receive media attention if he were to commit a "knockout game" attack on a black man. This was one of the first cases in which the victim was black. Previous instances in the US primarily involved white or Asian victims and black assailants. The Justice Department subsequently charged Barrett with a hate crime, the only time the DOJ involved itself in prosecuting these attacks. Barrett's attorney claimed his client suffers from bipolar disorder and was not on medication at the time of the attack. In October 2015, Barrett was sentenced to 71 months (5 years and 11 months) in federal incarceration. He also faced charges in state court.

In December 2015, a Hispanic man in New Jersey was reported assaulted by a Hispanic teen playing the "knockout game". The perpetrator turned himself in two months later and was ultimately sentenced to three years incarceration.

On July 27, 2016, in Milan, Italian police arrested a young Spaniard on vacation in Italy, after he made repeated assaults on passersby, similar to this "game". On that same date, in Greenville, South Carolina a man was attacked while playing Pokémon GO.

On August 29, 2016, a 30-year-old Guatemalan, Mardoquo Sincal Jochola, was fatally assaulted in Philadelphia and is alleged to have been a victim of the "knockout game".

On July 31, 2017, an unidentified man was caught on camera while knocking out a 24-year-old woman, Yana Rozanova, in Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine.

On October 1, 2020, alongside Central Park West, an unidentified black man was caught on surveillance video assaulting 67-year-old actor Rick Moranis with a single blow to the head.

Antisemitic components

Several attacks on Jewish victims in Brooklyn in 2013 have been called antisemitic hate crimes. ABC Nightline reported that New York City police believed that antisemitism was likely to be a motive in the attacks, as all eight victims were identified as Jewish.

Jewish community leaders in Brooklyn have spoken out on the subject, and the Anti-Defamation League regional office issued a public statement on knockout attacks "targeting Jewish individuals in Brooklyn". Amrit Marajh, a 28-year-old suspect in an attack that took place in Brooklyn, was charged with a hate crime as his victim was Jewish. Marajh has claimed innocence and denied the claims of antisemitism.

On December 3, newly elected black Democratic New York City councilwoman Laurie Cumbo added a letter to her Facebook page saying: "The accomplishments of the Jewish community triggers feelings of resentment, and a sense that Jewish success is not also their success." The Anti-Defamation League said her post was "troubling" and that it evoked "classic anti-Semitic stereotypes." Cumbo later issued an apology for the remarks. Cumbo added that the lives of victims and suspects will never be the same and that attackers would be "prosecuted to the full extent of the law". NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly later stated that he was avoiding referring to the attacks as part of any sort of trend to avoid further copycat attacks and has instead been labeling them as hate crimes.

Response

Government action

New York

On November 21, 2013 Republican New York State assemblyman Jim Tedisco put forward legislation called the "Knockout Assault Deterrent Act" to charge juvenile offenders in these type of attacks as adults, and would also punish those who were found recording the attacks. New York State Senator Hugh Farley (also a Republican) supports legislation that would make assailants linked to the knockout game liable to harsher sentences, would try juvenile offenders as adults, and would make accomplices criminally responsible. Democratic assemblyman John McDonald, while admitting stiffer penalties were warranted claimed Tedisco's bill was unnecessary.

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, Republican State Assemblyman Dean Kaufert said he was considering drafting a bill to deter attacks.

Communities

After incidents during late 2013 in Brooklyn in which Jews were victims of knockout attacks, Jewish leaders, councilmembers, and organization representatives spoke against the attacks.

Leaders from the black community also made statements. New York City councilman Charles Barron stated that the root of the problem was a need for jobs to keep young people out of trouble; he also suggested additional funding for community patrols to act as lookouts. Representative Hakeem Jeffries said at a Crown Heights Youth Collective conference that attacks based on race will not be tolerated and that the collective will do everything in its power to see that justice is done. Brooklyn's then-District Attorney-elect Kenneth P. Thompson called out the attacks, saying that "there is no status to be gained" for knocking out an unsuspecting victim and that such violence will not be tolerated. Brooklyn Borough President-elect Eric Adams affirmed Thompson's statement, saying that, if you "play this game, ... you will lose".

Other notable New York City community members who have spoken against the attacks include Reverend Al Sharpton, Dov Hikind, Russell Simmons, Foundation for Ethnic Understanding founder Rabbi Marc Schneier, former NYC mayor David Dinkins and former New Orleans mayor and current National Urban League president Marc Morial released a video in December 2013 saying "No to K.O." Retired Brooklyn-born boxer Mike Tyson has also spoken against the attacks on The Piers Morgan Show.

Criticism of reporting

The existence of a growing trend of knockout attacks has been questioned; claims about the prevalence of the phenomenon have been called an "urban myth" and a "type of panic" by some political analysts.

A June 2011 investigative report by John Tucker of the Riverfront Times following the death of Hoang Nguyen in 2011 saw many related attacks, all attributed to the "Knockout King" game. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Daniel Isom stated that a year prior the police determined that the knockout game was played by a group of children who went around trying to knock random people unconscious. The police estimated the activity was not widespread and limited to five or nine teens. In Tucker's interviews with local teens, they believed the number to be much higher; one 18-year-old estimated 10-15% of his peers played the game. A St. Louis area barber said that in his youth the phenomenon was not called "Knockout King" but "One Hitter Quitter". Mike Males of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice claimed that the media has been cherry-picking related attacks for sensationalism, asserting that "This knockout-game legend is a fake trend." Police at the time believed such attacks might have been under-reported by immigrant victims in communities where relations with law enforcement had been tense.

An attack from 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was tentatively linked to more recent attacks, although it was never identified as part of any "game". Police in Syracuse, New York, reported that one assailant in a fatal attack admitted to its being "knockout", with a police sergeant noting that the assaults he was investigating were definitely "for a game" rather than being attempted murders or robberies.

On November 23, 2013, The New York Times reported that police officials in New York City were considering their position on the "game" and were wondering if they should advise the public, but had to contend with the uncertain existence of the game. Police in New York City questioned whether they were faced with a trend or a series of isolated incidents. Then-New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly refused to refer to the attacks in Brooklyn as the "knockout game" to avoid possible copycat attacks.

Several assaults associated with the knockout game do not follow any particular pattern; in several instances, a single assailant attempted a one-punch attack while in others multiple assailants participated in a gang attack. The "Knockout King" death of Nguyen in St. Louis was such a gang attack. A purported trend was identified in Lansing, Michigan, called "point 'em out, knock 'em out" involved the use of a Taser.

Many officials have outright refused to refer to the assaults as a "game", with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter explicitly stating he did not want to give the idea any credibility while at a press conference after an attack at a Philadelphia pizzeria where the suspects never mentioned the game. In a CNN interview with Don Lemon, Nutter stated he was not sure if the knockout game is real or not, adding he less concerned about the name but saying the incidents are of "great concern" and could spark copycat behavior. Nutter would not answer if the attacks were racially motivated and stated that Philadelphia has no confirmed "game" incidents. Earlier, Philadelphia Police spokeswoman Tanya Little determined a November 11 attack as part of a knockout game.

Jamelle Bouie of The Daily Beast was critical of the game's existence as a trend, comparing its existence to the "wilding" assault allegedly at hand in the Central Park jogger case and the often reported headlight flashing urban legend. Although several people were attacked and one had died, Bouie pointed out that the attacks were not really rare, noting the FBI had reported 127,577 unarmed assaults in 2012.

Journalist Jesse Singal investigated the issue, and found that there was "in fact evidence to support the existence of a teen activity called Knockout—it’s not as though this is a media-manufactured hoax." At the same time, Singal noted that the motives were unknown for much of the "random, pointless violence" the media were associating with the game, and that despite widespread coverage of "young black men attacking people", there were no hard data on the extent of the actual "game". He revealed that CCTV footage of a man punching a woman from behind which aired on several local television stations in the US was in fact from East London. Singal concluded that, due to sometimes careless reporting, media coverage created a risk of "sparking unnecessary panic, some of it race-driven."

Chris Hayes, host of MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes, gave the knockout game his first annual "Over-Covered Stories of the Year" award, due to what he perceived as excessive coverage by Fox News.

Robin Abcarian for the Los Angeles Times criticized this reporting style by a conservative analyst, saying that blame was shifted onto the federal government. Abcarian noted that Barrett explicitly stated he was seeking a black victim, and postulated that he may have been acting on this "lazy narrative that black teens were randomly attacking white people". She criticized the statement by Sharpton and the conservative news sources, which agreed with him after decades of opposition. Abcarian criticized the reporting of this attack as possibly being related to the knockout game trend, as the alleged attackers sought out Patterson because he was gay rather than because he is black. She also brought up a case of a fabrication of a "knockout"-style attack, after the victim and her boyfriend revealed she had lied that she was attacked at random by a stranger and instead he had struck her, noting that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch did not report the initial attack as a "knockout game" attack. Abcarian claimed that the 2011 attack by Dajour Washington on James Addlesburger was being used for sensationalism. The video of the assault was shown by Bill O'Reilly, which Addlesburger felt was being exploited and manipulated to fan racial hatred. Washington, who spent nine months in juvenile detention for the attack, appeared on Nightline in 2013 and claimed he had not attacked Addlesburger because he was white but rather because he was the only man present. Washington also claimed that at the time of the attack he had never heard of the "knockout game".

Tommy Christopher, writing for Mediaite, claimed James Rosen's report for Fox News on the attack was misleading, noting claims made by Rosen that it is the first such attack to be charged as a hate crime, when it was the first under federal statute. Christopher cited the arrest of Amrit Marajh in Brooklyn and the investigation of the alleged assault on Taj Patterson, a gay black man who claimed he was attacked by a group of Orthodox Jewish men, as proof of this.

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