The NYPD is investigating a new incident with the so-called "knockout game," 72-year-old Jewish woman Mira Harpazi became a new victim of the "knockout game" as she was sucker-punched by a youth in the street, and was left injured. She was not robbed.
Harpazi was walking two blocks from her home at the Starret City housing complex in Brooklyn before she was punched in the face by a man in his 20s, CBSLocal reported.
"We're concerned about it because the public is concerned about it," said NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly saying that his officers remain vigilant.
Other incidents predominantly have taken place in Crown Heights Brooklyn. A 12-year-old boy and a 78-year-old grandmother were both assaulted in recent weeks.
"I was punched and knocked to the ground," the boy said, as reported by CBSlNewYork.
A 13-year-old was arrested on Monday in connection with that attack, and was brought down to the 71st Precinct in Crown Heights, news reports said. He as charged with assault and aggravated harassment, and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
The 78-year-old woman from Midwood Brooklyn, "is lucky to still be alive after such a vicious assault. To make matters worse, she was too afraid to even go to the police. I learned of the incident when her son called me to ask for greater police vigilance because this 'knock-out' rampage is occurring more and more frequently-not just in Crown Heights but also Midwood and many other neighborhoods," Assemblyman Dov Hikind told reporters last week.
The NYPD charged 28-year-old Amrit Marajh last Friday as being part of an assault led by four youths who had punched Schmuel Perl, a 28-year-old. He also was not robbed.
Other "knockout" attack victims in Brooklyn include a 20-year-old man from Israel and a 12-year-old boy who was attacked on his way to Hebrew school.
"Attacks of this sort have [also] been rampant in St. Louis. But they have also occurred in Massachusetts, Wisconsin and elsewhere. In Illinois, the game has often been called 'polar-bear hunting' by the young thugs," The New York Post reported last week.
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