But what is happening in the Big Apple? Swollen eyes, swollen foreheads, damaged teeth… Around ten women testify, on the TikTok platform, to having been hit in the face in the streets of New York (United States) for several days. Some of these videos have several million views.
The testimony of Halley Kate McGookin, an influencer with more than a million followers, published this Monday on TikTok, is undoubtedly the one that attracted the most attention. The video in which she recounts her attack had, as of midday this Friday, more than 48 million views. While she was writing an email on her cell phone in the streets of Manhattan, a man suddenly punched her in the face, without any prior exchange, she says in her video, taken moments after the attack. “It hurts so much I can't speak. I literally fell to the ground,” she adds. On his forehead, a significant edema is forming.
@halleykate ♬ original sound - halley
A man, suspected of being her attacker, was arrested this Wednesday evening, reports the New York Times, citing the police. The New York Police (NYPD) also declared on X that the apprehended individual, aged 40, had already committed “similar attacks” in the past.
pic.twitter.com/0oBRaqSZv0
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) March 28, 2024
Seven attacks between March 25 and 27
NYPD sources confirm to CBS News that they are investigating seven similar random attacks targeting women, which allegedly occurred between March 25 and 27 in the Chinatown, West Village, Chelsea and Midtown neighborhoods. All the victims were punched in the head and attacked while they were walking, specifies the American media.
In recent days, several other young women have shared similar experiences on TikTok. This is particularly the case of model Karina Dunford and Mikayla Toninato, a 27-year-old student. “I didn’t see him coming because I was looking at the ground,” the latter testified. “Then he hit me, I screamed and turned around to see what had just happened. It was like an out-of-body experience,” she describes in the columns of the New York Times. The student then went to the emergency room and said she suffered a concussion.
Similarities but no proven links
“I literally just got hit by a man on the sidewalk,” Olivia Brand also said in a video on March 17. A spokesperson for the New York police confirmed to The Cut that the investigation was underway concerning her, but did not specify whether it was linked to other complaints.
@olivia.brand
I <3 nyc
♬ original sound - Olivia Brand
Actress Sarah Suzuki Harvard, aged 30, explains on the social network X that on March 19, a man came behind her and punched her in the back of the head.
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.
Since then, I've seen several NYC women on TikTok reporting they've been punched in the face
— Sarah Suzuki Harvard (@sarahamyharvard) March 26, 2024
TikTok's powerful algorithm has enabled the wide distribution of these testimonials, which have reached several million views. However, it has not been proven that these cases, although similar, are linked to each other.