Women are urging other women to stay alert after a disturbing video compilation showed female victims who were physically assaulted, unprovoked, in New York by an unknown male assailant.
X (formerly Twitter) user @ymmayer posted a video featuring the four battered women who said they were recently "punched in the face" while minding their own business walking around the city.
Each victim recounted their attacks in their respective TikTok videos.
"This is so nuts," wrote the social media user, adding:
"There are a bunch of women getting punched in the face in nyc rn all over tiktok."
"I don’t know if it’s all the same guy some of the stories seem slightly different but some of them seem similar."
There was no confirmation of whether or not these violent acts were isolated events or if they were all perpetrated by the same attacker.
One of the women featured in the post was Influencer Halley Kate.
"I was literally just walking, and a man came up and punched me in the face," said Kate.
"OMG, it hurts so much, I can't even talk."
A second victim, Jill Burke, said she's lived in other major cities and was used to being vigilant of her surroundings.
She explained it was around 10 a.m. when her attacker in a "densely-populated" area, pointed a gun symbol at her using two fingers and within a split second slammed a bag filled with heavy objects onto her head, causing her to fall to the ground.
Luckily, witnesses called an ambulance. She suffered a concussion and bruising on her face.
"Even though there was nothing I could do to prevent this from happening, I think it's so important for women to always be prepared," said Burke.
@jill_burke be safe out there ladies #nyc #assault
Olivia Brand said she was walking when a man approached her and said "Sorry" before punching her in the neck.
She explained in a follow-up video that the incident occurred around the Nolita and Soho neighborhoods of Manhattan.
Brand said she immediately filed a police report and went to urgent care following the attack.
In the comments section, Brand described the suspect as:
“A Black man, wearing a light grey hoodie, probably no taller than 5’10. Short-ish hair. I don’t remember much else about his face."
@olivia.brand I <3 nyc
Mikayla Toninato, who is a student at Parsons School of Design, said she was physically attacked by a guy while she was walking home and texting.
Toninato said she immediately texted her friends after what happened and they wrote back sharing a story about another woman in New York who was punched in the face while she was looking at her phone.
“I don’t know if this is like a thing that’s going around, but I guess if you’re in New York right now and you’re walking while looking at your phone, maybe don’t do that," she said, adding:
"I guess we’re going to be super aware of our surroundings.”
@mikaylatoninato @halley i quite literally feel your pain this was so insane
Stand-up comedian Sarah Harvard claimed she was also a victim of the random attacks, in addition to the four women she talked about in her Instagram post.
Harvard wrote in the caption:
"It seems like they all got attacked in downtown Manhattan in the LES/East Village/Union Square area."
She said she initially didn't file a police report because she thought her attack was an "isolated incident and that the police wouldn’t do much."
After realizing it appeared to be a recurring incident based on the viral clips, Harvard said she would be filing a report with the police and encouraged those who've been similarly attacked to do the same.
The disturbing incidents led to an online discussion regarding the normalized violence women are facing.
These women are not alone.
Female commuters in New York are now having second thoughts about taking the MTA.
Halley mentioned she was looking down at her smartphone and sending an email when she was attacked, which was a similar scenario for TikToker Taylor Paré.
Paré said in a TikTok clip:
"Three different videos of girls getting punched in the face for being on their phones in New York. What's going on?"
"It reminded me of last year when I got punched in the face because I was on my phone in Union Square."
"And you don't see it coming, and all of a sudden you just think to yourself, what just happened."
@paretay #nyc #storytime #unhinged #fyp
One of the commenters on the thread pointed out how women are the only ones being attacked in New York, "Yet I haven’t heard one dude being punched for being on his phone."
"It’s ridiculous how many men just buck up to women and women alone," wrote the user.
The NYPD has yet to respond to inquiries regarding the attacks.
In the meantime, ladies, continue staying vigilant and aware of your surroundings while going about your day, just in case there is anyone looking to cause trouble.
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