District police investigating random attacks similar to ‘knockout game’

One woman was punched in the face as she crested a hill on her bicycle in Northwest Washington. Another was hit in the back of the head as she walked to a bus stop. Neither was robbed, and after one attack, the young men laughed as they made their escape.
D.C. police say the recent attacks in Columbia Heights may be part of a disturbing trend that assailants across the country call the “knockout game.” Youths challenge one another to knock out a random person with a single punch.
The Internet is giving attackers bragging rights far beyond their circle of friends or even their neighborhoods. One particularly brutal video from New Jersey showing a young man hitting a woman from behind, sending her face first to the pavement, has a half-million views on YouTube. In recent years, such attacks have turned deadly in St. Louis and Upstate New York.
“Regardless if you call it the knockout game or not, it’s a senseless act,” said Phoebe Connolly, 32, who was attacked Saturday night as she rode her bike on 11th Street NW. The Vermont resident visits the District often for her job, which involves running youth leadership programs.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/district-police-investigating-random-attacks-similar-to-knockout-game/2013/11/21/ca9e26c2-5154-11e3-9fe0-fd2ca728e67c_story.html