A scraggly-haired menace with a jaunty gait randomly punched a 23-year-old woman in the face amid concerns by Tik Tok users that women are being assaulted by strangers on New York City streets, officials said Wednesday.
Cops released a surveillance image of the suspect wanted for the March 20 Chelsea attack that left a 23-year-old woman with an injured nose.
The victim told police she was walking past a McDonald’s on Sixth Ave. near W. 14th St. when the stranger punched her in the face with no warning about 10 a.m.
A surveillance camera nearby captured the stranger, who was wearing a white shirt and denim jacket, as he slowly jogged away with an oddly jaunty gate, surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows. Cops are asking the public’s help identifying and tracking down the suspect.
Medics took the woman to Lenox Health Greenwich Village, where she was treated for a minor wound and released.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the man was inspired by the surge of random unprovoked attacks in Manhattan outlined on Tik Tok over the past two weeks.
Two men were charged last week in separate incidents that were the subject of recent TikTok videos in which the victims said they were punched by strangers.
At least four similar attacks have occurred on city streets, police said, causing worried women across the boroughs to take extra precautions when venturing outside.
“I definitely don’t go out at night. Past 8 p.m., I’m in my house unless I’m with somebody else,” said Christina Burke, 28, of Sunnyside, Queens, who now drives instead of taking subways.
“I was scared, because they’re hitting random people. So you don’t even know if it’s a specific type of person they’re looking for.”
On March 27, cops arrested political gadfly Skiboky Stora, who they say assaulted TikTok influencer Halley Kate Mcgookin near W. 16th St. and Seventh Ave. in Chelsea at 10:20 a.m. March 25.
The next day, cops arrested Mallik Miah, charging him with assaulting TikToker Mikayla Toninato in Greenwich Village Monday.
Toninato was near Fifth Ave. and E. 12th St. when Miah allegedly struck her about 2 p.m. March 25, said police. According to a criminal complaint, Miah, 30, identified himself in a still image taken from surveillance footage of the attack. Toninato posted a video to the social media platform right after being punched by Miah.
Police are looking into a flurry of other random assaults on women in Manhattan, some of which have been posted about on TikTok.
On March 17 at 11:48 a.m. on Kenmare and Mulberry Sts., TikToker Olivia Brand, 25, was struck by a man who initially apologized to her, she said.
“He goes ‘sorry’ and punches me in the head,” said Brand on a video she posted afterwards. “What the hell is happening?”
A 36-year-old woman was punched in the back on March 25 at 10:15 a.m. while walking on Rivington and Chrystie Sts. in the Lower East Side, cops said.
On March 26, at noon, a 24-year-old woman was attacked by a man who slammed the left side of her head with his elbow while she walked on Seventh Ave. near W. 39th St., according to police.
Also on Tuesday, a 24-year-old woman was hit in the head by a stranger in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, police said Friday.
The victim was walking along Sixth Ave. near W. 23rd St. about 12:45 p.m. when the stranger stormed up and punched her in the head, then ran off without saying a word, cops said.
The woman wasn’t seriously hurts. Cops scouring the area found surveillance video of the attacker, who was wearing a black bubble jacket and a hooded sweatshirt.
Police are asking anyone with information regarding the Chelsea attack or any of the other unprovoked assaults to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
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