A recent rash of violent crime in New York City has young women on high alert.
A number of young women have taken to Instagram and TikTok to share their stories. They say that men have approached them and attacked them in broad daylight for seemingly no reason.
Unprovoked Attacks Causing Real Harm
TikTok creator Halley Kate shared her story on Monday recounting the attack. She shows her followers the large lump protruding from her forehead as a result.
The unmistakable goose egg sized lump next to her hairline is evidence of the attack. She claims that while walking down the street, minding her own business, a man walked up to her and punched her in the head. After she fell to the ground, she said the man continued screaming insults at her until she was able to get away from the situation.
Unmistakable Support for Victims of Attacks
Halley goes on in her video to say that she felt terrified during the attack and had no idea what was happening to her.
With more than 20 million views and 10,000 comments, Halley has garnered massive support from her audience. Unfortunately, many women have shared similar stories of random attacks in the comments section of her video.
The TikToker Shares an Update of Her Attack
After her initial video where the TikToker is clearly in a state of shock, she made a follow up to answer some of the commonly asked questions.
She explains that after being attacked and screamed at by the perpetrator, she ran away to safety. After receiving medical care, she reported the incident to the police. She was told by investigators that her story matched similar incidents in the area.
More Stories of Unprovoked Attacks
Whether Halley was the first to be attacked or just the first to get noticed, she certainly isn’t alone.
Dozens of other women have made their own videos following a shocking attack. Another TikToker, Mikayla Toninato, made a similar video. She shared her story of being attacked on the street while displaying a freshly blackened eye.
Commonalities Between the Attacks
The women who have been randomly assaulted share similarities in the events of the attack.
Most women sharing their stories online say that they were looking down at their phones, sending emails, texts, or looking at directions, when they were punched in the face. Mikayla decided to walk home before calling the police to report the incident.
Commenters Are Concerned About the Number of Attackers
In a third and eerily similar video, TikTok creator and local comedian, Olivia Brand, shared her story, saying she had just been punched in the head while walking down the street.
Comments shared by The BLAST have shown concerns about the similarities of the attacks, the neighborhood that they’re taking place in, and the similarity of the victims. Some have gone so far to ask if it’s the same man attacking each of the women.
Being Aware of Your Surroundings
Many of the women who have shared their stories of being assaulted are spreading the message to stay alert.
They all say to any young women in the area to get off your phone and stay aware of the situation. Some women have said they were punched but only after ducking out of the way.
Women Being Targeted by Attackers
While it’s unclear why the assaults are taking place or who’s behind them, one thing is clear, women are the target.
Random attacks are exceedingly rare. Usually, the perpetrator wants something from the victim, such as with a robbery turned violent or a sexual assault. But these random acts of malice seem to exist just to punish women minding their own business.
Real Housewives Star Also Targeted
Bethenny Frankel, a popular star of the Real Housewives New York City franchise, shared a similar story.
Bethenny actually commented on Halley’s video, stating that the same thing happened to her while walking to a bakery in NYC a few months ago.
Police Unsure of the Connection
A police spokesperson reportedly told Buzzfeed that they’re unaware of any connection between the recent attacks.
Although the attacks seem to be motivated and coordinated, the police have yet to make any speculations on the reasoning behind them.
Arrest Finally Made
In an update to Buzzfeed, the police said that they made an arrest on Wednesday, March 27th, and filed assault charges on behalf of Halley.
The NYPD have named the man in question as 40-year-old Skiboky Stora. They also noted that Stora ran for office multiple times and posted videos of himself harassing women around the city on multiple occasions.
