“Why are so many women and girls getting punched in the face in NYC?”

It’s a question being asked across social media platforms, as a series of videos of different women sharing stories of alleged attacks have gone viral, seemingly simultaneously. “I have seen no less than four of these in the last day WHAT is going on?” one commenter wrote on a video.

 

The stories share similarities. In front-facing camera videos, young women say they were punched in the face in broad daylight by unknown men while walking down the street. Many say they were on their phone at the time of the attack.

New York police said on March 27 that they made an arrest in one of the incidents and are investigating another, NBC News reported.

While police wouldn’t confirm that any of the incidents described in the TikTok videos are under investigation, they shared that the cases resemble those shared on social media.

 

Overall crime in New York has fallen: Police reported a decrease in shootings, murders and other crimes, like grand larceny, as opposed to February of last year. But the attacks come amid a statistical rise in misdemeanor assault. According to crime statistics for this past week, misdemeanor assault is up 10.3% from this time last year, and it has gone up 15.7% in the past two years.

 

Caitlin Keith spoke to TODAY.com about an incident that took place in December 2023 that shares similarities with the recent viral stories, and the impact it had on her.

The 25-year-old explains that she made eye contact with a “young white male” while walking at 9 a.m. in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. The man, who she describes as about 5-foot-10 and in his 20s, began following her down Broadway.

“At one point I felt him start running, so I moved all of the way over to my right and he came up to me on the left, spit all over my face and back and punched me in the left side of the face,” she says.

 

She says the event has changed her. “Since the incident, my boyfriend has noticed anytime anyone comes up on my sides behind me I freak out,” she says. “I get scared incredibly easily if I catch anyone in my peripherals or if I feel someone running behind me.”

 

Ruby Zinner, 24, said she was attacked in December by a tall man in an orange construction vest 400 feet from her building. She tells TODAY.com the experience, while troubling, hasn’t made her want to leave New York. “I’d much rather live here than anywhere else, if we’re talking about safety. Because there’s a million people here and, in a way, that always has made me feel safer,” she says.

 

Savannah Guthrie said on TODAY on March 28 that the attacks have hit close to home for her.

“This happened to a very good friend of my who actually happened to be the former head of New York City transit — ran the subways — and she got punched in the face in broad daylight, about 15 months ago,” she said.

 

Some of these women have reveled details behind their experiences.

What do the women say about the attacks in the viral videos?

Influencer Halley Mcgookin, known online as Halley Kate, went viral for her March 25 video describing an attack that had just taken place.

 

In the video, which has garnered over 35 million views, a teary Mcgookin says she had just been punched on the streets of New York. She points to a massive bump on the upper right side of her head, seemingly from the impact.

In a follow-up video, Mcgookin explains that she was walking on the sidewalk looking down at her phone to send an email when a man punched her.

“There was so much room on the sidewalk, literally nobody was around and I guess this man — I don’t know if he punched me or elbowed me. I literally passed out, so I don’t really remember,” she says, adding that the man was walking his dog when he approached her.

Mcgookin says that when she tried to get up after being knocked down, the man was “screaming” at her before she ran away.

 

Skiboky Stora, 40, of Brooklyn, was arrested on March 27 on an assault charge in connection with the incident, police said.

Stora has sought public office in New York since 2021, public records show. Last year, he ran for the District 9 seat on the New York City Council.

 

Tagging Mcgookin in her own video, TikTok user Mikayla Toninato posted a clip March 25 saying she was also punched in the face while leaving class in Manhattan at Parsons School of Design.

“I turned the corner and I was looking down and I was looking at my phone and texting, and out of nowhere, this man just came up and hit me in the face,” she said in the video.

Toninato told NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk on TODAY on March 28 that she suffered a concussion after being punched in the cheekbone.

“It’s been really, really hard,” Toninato said. “I think it hits me in waves. A lot of crying, because it was really scary.”

She said the attack has affected her education.

“I’m really scared to go back to school,” she said. “I’ve just been delaying as long as possible, but I’ll have to go back eventually.”

 

Also on March 25, Selena Pikanab posted on TikTok saying she was punched in SoHo. She was approached while using her phone to navigate herself. After hearing “excuse me,” she looked up and saw a man holding his fist up “ready to swing” so she backed away and he punched her in the shoulder. She said she screamed and took out a taser attached to her backpack, and the man ran away.

 

In a video posted March 26, a TikTok user @kendalllllllll888 ices a bump on her head as she says, “I have fallen victim to the men in New York City … trying to punch innocent girls in the street.” She says she was assaulted while walking through Times Square with her coworkers, and she wasn’t on her phone.

The women describe an array of perpetrators, though some are making connections by watching each others’ videos.

 

After seeing the slate of videos, @malous228 shared what happened to her in Times Square on March 23, when a “random man … punched her in the head.” She also posted a video of the alleged perpetrator, who was wearing a red coat.

“It was a traumatic experience and something that is going to tick with me for the ret of my life,” she says.

 

In a video shared March 26, user @meredithfryy shared a video on TikTok saying she had almost been punched in the face. She said the man in @malous228’s was the “clearly the same same man” who had tried to attack her, wearing the “same jacket.”

While multiple videos went viral on March 25 and 26, there is evidence of earlier attacks.

 

TikTok user @olivia.brand’s posted March 17 an account saying, “I literally just got punched by some man on the sidewalk. He goes, ‘Sorry,’ the punches me in the head.” TikToker Jill Burke posted a video Feb. 8 with a black eye. She says a man “slammed” a bag of heavy items on her face, leading to a concussion and a possible chipped bone.

 

Meanwhile, a man has been arrested after punching an unsuspecting woman just walking down the street earlier this week.

Fashion student and content creator Mikayla Toninato took to TikTok to share the news that they caught the man who attacked her.

 

Toninato shared a TikTok video giving an update on what’s been going on since she was randomly punched in the face earlier this week while walking in New York City.

“I did go to the police, I filed a report, and they are currently working on my case,” she said. “I know that an arrest was made in the case of someone else’s assault, but that was not the same man who hit me. It definitely looks like this is multiple men punching multiple girls all around New York.”

Toninato also revealed that she has a concussion from being hit.

 

After explaining that the police have been very attentive and helpful while working on her case, she said she didn’t think that would be the case. The fashion student encourages anyone else who’s been assaulted should file a police report.

 

One viewer asked in the comments, “My question is, is anyone looking at any surveillance cameras from the area??” to which Toninato replied, “The police have the footage!”

Less than two hours after her update video, Toninato was informed that an arrest was made in her case.

 

“They just arrested the man that assaulted me,” she started her TikTok video. “I am seriously in shock, but I just got a call from my detective, who has been working this case. He was going to different buildings in the area to get more surveillance footage, and then literally saw the man walking around the street and just arrested him and is taking him to the station.”

Toninato said she also got another call with good news right after. This call was from the State of New York’s Victim Support office.

“I didn’t know that this existed, but they will cover my medical bills related to this assault as a victim, which is insane,” she continued. “I’m feeling a million times better about this entire situation. I genuinely cannot believe this.”

She said she was one of the people who thought calling the police to file a report wouldn’t do anything, so she’s really glad that she did.

 

Another TikTok creator shared her story earlier this week after being randomly punched in the head as she walked down the street in New York City.

 

The man who was arrested for punching Halley in the face is a political candidate who ran for mayor, governor and City Council in the past.

Stora was set to appear in Manhattan court on Wednesday morning for a previous arrest, according to court dockets.

The New York Post reported that Stora made an unsuccessful City Council bid in District 9 last year, losing to Democrat Yusef Salaam.

When news that Stora was the man who punched Halley, many took to his Instagram page to leave comments about the arrest on his prior posts.

“This is the most angriest man walking around trying to become internet famous,” one person wrote in the comments of a recent video. Another person said, “WHY ARE YOU GOING AROUND PUNCHING WHITE WOMAN? LOW LIFE!”

 

Olivia Brand, another TikToker how shared that she was randomly punched in the face, also shared a recent update. Her scary incident actually happened last week, before the many other women who reported their attack earlier this week.

“I did just get a call from the New York Police Department detective, he just asked me more about what had happened, based on the police report I filed last week,” she said. “Basically, he was saying that since it was a harassment report, they don’t usually investigate it, but since similar things have been happening over and over again, they’re opening an investigation.”

She said the police are looking to get footage from the area she was attacked.

 

Many viewers were confused about how the police could label this attack “harassment.”

“Harassment? That’s assault and battery!” one person said. Another added, “Harassment is not the same as punching people in the face-that’s assault!”