Women Getting Punched in the Face in New York: A Series of Events

By: Julia Porcu

Why are women getting randomly getting punched in the face in New York City?

This question is surfacing amongst numerous social media platforms, especially TikTok. Multiple women who have a following on the app have fallen victim to randomly being punched in the face in New York City, and their stories are all over TikTok.

These videos have been going viral and people want to know why this is happening. There is no real explanation, however, researchers say that reports of these kinds of attacks began on March 17th. Since then, at least 5-6 women have filed police reports, and one 40-year-old man from Brooklyn was charged with one of the assaults.

Influencer Halley Mcgookin, also known as Halley Kate on TikTok posted a video on March 25th that got 5.2 million likes and 50.7 million views right after she was punched. She said, “You guys, I was literally just walking, and a man came up and punched me in the face.” She had fell to the ground, had a massive bump on her head, and was holding back her tears while sharing the story of her attack online.

When Halley got home, she recorded another TikTok video explaining what had happened. She said that she was walking, looking at her phone, and sending an email when she got attacked.

Halley said no one was around at the time, and she surmised that the man was mad that her head was down and took it upon himself to body check her in a way to let her know to be conscious of her surroundings.

She claims she fell to the ground, blacked out for a second, and when she got up the man was still there screaming at her. She then proceeded to run away and record a video of what had just happened to her.

Researchers say that a 40-year-old man named Skiboky Stora, from Brooklyn, was arrested for assault concerning the incident with Halley.

Similarly, TikTok user Mikayla Toninato posted a video tagging Halley Kate in the caption section and stated “I quite literally feel your pain this was so insane.”

She stated that while she was leaving class, she was looking at her phone and texting when a man appeared out of nowhere and struck her in the face.

The two women were both on their phones when attacked which leads some to believe that these incidents are related.

In speaking with a college student named Nicole Abbate she voiced her fears and concerns after hearing about these incidents via TikTok. “As a young woman, it is terrifying that I have to worry about being physically assaulted in broad daylight, and what worries me the most is that it can easily happen to myself, family, and friends who take public transportation in the city daily.”

Women especially those who are out and about on their own, are now being urged to keep their eyes off their phones and more on their surroundings.