The latest arrests for Knockout Game attacks have surprising results.
A 14-year-old girl and three other children aged 10 and 11 were arrested for a series of assaults in October and November.
The victims include a youth the gang hit in the head with a rock and another who had a plastic bag held over their face to suffocate them.
“Kids are kids — when you’re talking 10 and 11 year olds getting involved in these type of things, sometimes they don’t realize the magnitude of what they’re doing,” NYPD Deputy Inspector George Fitzgibbon told reporters.
The police say that the attacks, despite only striking Jewish children, were not motivated by hate.
The youths were charged with assault, endangerment and criminal mischief.
A 20-year-old Long Island man is behind bars after police say he committed at least seven “knockout game” attacks dating back to April 2013.
Darryl Mitchell is expected to be charged today with the assaults of residents from Babylon, New York to Amityville, New York.
One of the victims, Darryl Jones, said that Mitchell came at him out of nowhere and landed a single roundhouse punch to the face. The blow caused a gash above his eye that required seven stitches.
“If I wasn’t strong enough, I probably would’ve passed out,” told WABC. “He was walking on the sidewalk and I moved out of the way just to step into the street and he stood in front of me holding up his hands and hit me in the face.”
The victims ranged in age from 17 to 69.
A sniper with the Lebanese army launched an unprovoked attack on an Israeli soldier. The soldier was driving along the border late Sunday night when he was shot by the sniper.
Two Lebanese soldiers were then killed early Monday morning by Israeli troops.
The shootings are causing concern that the area will see hostilities resume after a mostly peaceful season after a one-month war in 2006. Israeli officials said they do not want to see an escalation of the violence and they would take no actions to add to that atmosphere.
Lebanon’s National News Agency confirmed the killing of the Israeli soldier was by a member of their army but did not mention why the sniper chose to assassinate the Israeli.
United Nations officials have called on both sides to provide information for an investigation into the incident without delay.
A Pennsylvania teenager is behind bars charged with a brutal attack on a retired nun.
Andrew Bullock, 18, attacked the nun outside of St. Titus Church near Pittsburgh. He reportedly asked the nun if she needed help. When she declined, he grabbed her by the neck, choked her and punched her.
The nun is hospitalized with severe injuries including a broken jaw. She communicated information about the details of her attack by writing them down for police before she was taken into surgery.
“The Sisters of St. Joseph are deeply saddened and heartbroken by the assault of one of our Sisters,” a statement from the order said. “As we offer continued prayers of healing for our Sister, we also pray for the young man who has been arrested in the assault.”
Bullock is held on $50,000 bond for charges including aggravated assault. Bullock confessed to the attack during questioning by police.
Corrections officers at Rikers Island are being told to take extra precautions after reports that inmates have begin participating in the “Knockout Game”.
A female corrections officer told MyFoxNY that she is still reeling from wounds she suffered when attacked in a Knockout Game style attack on November 30th. She said the game is spreading within the prison walls.
“[An inmate]came right out of the bathroom and punched me in my eye,” she said.
She suffered a fractured eye socket and may need surgery for her blurry vision.
Correction officers union officials said that the game is being used by inmates to prove how tough they are to other inmates. The wounded officer said that she won’t be intimidated by the attack and looks forward to wearing her uniform again.
Civil rights leaders and music stars are joining together to try and put an end to the knockout game in New York.
Reverend Al Sharpton, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and others have joined together for a series of social media announcements aimed at ending the violent game where a group of youths videotape a member of their gang striking a random stranger with the intent of knocking them out with one punch.
“The knockout game is not a game,” Rev. Sharpton said in a YouTube video. “It is vicious. It is ugly. It must be stopped.”
Sharpton then released a statement saying the game cannot be tolerated.
“These kids are targeting innocent people, and in many cases specifically targeting Jewish folks. We would not be silent if it were the other way around, and we will not be silent now. This behavior is racist, period. And we will not tolerate it,” he wrote.
Russell Simmons said in his video that those who participate in the game are cowards.
“How come you all want to hit people that look like they’ve got on devotional clothing and might not hit you back? Why don’t you hit somebody that might hit you back?” Simmons said in a video.
A newly elected New York Councilwoman wrote in an open letter that said many of her black constituents feel threatened by the growth of the Jewish community and that could be contributing to the increase in violence.
A Manhattan chef is unable to speak after three hours of surgery to wire his jaw shut after being attacked in Philadelphia.
The New York Daily News reports that 30-year-old Diego Moya is the latest victim of the “Knockout Game.”
Moya was returning to his hotel to pack for a return trip to New York when he was attacked. His nose was broken in multiple places and his jaw shattered. The attackers fled leaving him unconscious on the front steps at about 11 p.m.
“Ate dinner with friends and on my way back to hostel got pizza. As I walked down the alley I was hit from behind. Nothing was stolen from me which leads me to believe this was that ‘game.’ I hope I’m the last person this happens to,” Moya told the Daily News.
Police said that a group of six to eight men attacked him ranging in age from 16 to 21.
Moya will be unable to work for four weeks while his jaw is wired shut so the bones can heal.
Black Friday brought a wave of violence across the United States.
In Romeoville, Illinois, a driver believed to be part of a shoplifting scheme was shot by police after he dragged a police officer with his car while trying to escape in the parking lot of a Kohl’s department store. The suspected shoplifter and two accomplices were arrested. The officer’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
A witness at the store told the Chicago Tribute the sight of a shirtless officer being bandaged by emergency personnel and a car with the window shot out did nothing to slow down shoppers heading into the store.
A police officer in Rialto, California was wounded when he tried to break up a fight after a store manager decided to open early. The fight that wounded the officer was one of three at the store. All the people involved in the fighting were taken into custody.
A man who had purchased a big screen TV at a Target store in Las Vegas was shot as he walked home. The man was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
At least two people at a Utah Wal-Mart were injured after being thrown to the ground in a stampede of people attempting to get $49 tablet computers.
The Mayor of Philadelphia has stepped up to say that the “knockout game” spreading across the country in major cities will not be tolerated in his town.
“This is not a game. You can seriously injure or possibly kill someone,” Mayor Michael Nutter said at a press conference. “Your child’s life will be dramatically changed, and probably yours as well as a parent. So let’s cut out the nonsense. There are many other things that people can do to enjoy themselves. This is not one of them.”
The “knockout game” is where a victim is randomly assaulted by striking them in the head with the intention of knocking them out with one punch while the incident is recorded on a cell phone or other device.
The Mayor said anyone caught committing a crime connected to the “knockout game” would face charges ranging from aggravated assault to third degree murder. He has instructed the city’s district attorney to use the most serious charges available for any attack and prosecute to the fullest extent.
Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey encouraged parents to be involved with their children, ask them if they know anyone engaging in the game and pay attention to who their children associate with during the day.
On November 13th, we reported in a story called Knock Out The Jew about Jewish residents in New York City being attacked over the previous months by gangs who attempted to knock out their victims with a single punch. A local rabbi said they were playing a “knockout game.”
Now, police in other northeastern cities are reporting that the “game” has made its way to their communities.
At least three knockout attacks have taken place in the Philadelphia area. Police in Lower Merion Township say two attacks took place in their jurisdiction. Philadelphia police detectives confirmed one attack taking place within the city.
Victim Mark Cumberland told CBS he is still suffering from blurred vision and having trouble breathing from the attack on November 11th. He was walking out of a pizza shop when he was attacked.
Two teens were arrested for attacking an elderly man on October 29th. Lower Marion police say the teens walked up to a 63-year-old man and just punched him in the mouth.
Police in Washington, D.C. confirm at least two attacks they believe to be “knockout game” incidents. In one attack, a woman riding a bike was punched in the nose and knocked to the ground.
