charge in knockout game in NYC

The new violent fad known as the “knockout game” has been making headlines across the country and alarming the public as well as authorities. Participants aim to sucker punch random strangers on the street and knock them out. ABC News reports that yet another “player” of the game has been charged and this time with a hate crime.

A twenty-eight year old man named Amrit Marajh is the suspect in the most recent case to garner media attention. On Friday morning, he allegedly punched an unidentified twenty-four year old Orthodox Jew. The incident occurred in the Borough Park area of Brooklyn, New York. There have been at least eight attacks in the city in the past few weeks and as a result NYPD has increased patrols in several neighborhoods. David Greenfield, New York City Councilman, has expressed a new zero tolerance policy.

The game has been reported in six states so far and three people have died in apparent attacks associated with it. Most participating in the game are youth and Assemblyman Jim Tedisco has proposed a bill that would classify the game as a form of gang violence. This would cause young people to be tried as adults. Despite all of this, the game appears to be spreading.