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Man Punched On The Bowery Convinced He's Victim Of "Knockout" Game
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 7, 2014
Modified Mar 7, 2014
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screenshot via CBS
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 7, 2014
Modified Mar 7, 2014
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A man was punched in the face out of the blue and knocked unconscious on the Lower East Side early Sunday morning. Victim Kyle Rogers, 23, suffered facial lacerations and a broken jaw, which had to be wired shut. He told CBS that he's convinced he's the latest victim of the so-called "knockout" game. "I [was] defenseless," he said of the attack, which you can see in the surveillance video below. "It’s one thing if he was looking me in the face, like squaring up, but, come on, from behind? It’s like a coward move."
Rogers had left his friends at Sweet & Vicious bar on Spring Street and was walking north on the Bowery when the attack occurred just before 2:30 a.m. Sunday. "I guess when I fell and hit the ground, I split this open, my eyebrow, and my chin from the punch," he said of his injuries. Police describe the suspect as a black man in his 20s. "You shouldn't have that fear always in the back of your head, 'oh someone's going to come out nowhere and punch me,'" he told ABC.
"I just want these kids to stop," Kyle’s father, Michael Rogers, told CBS. "I want them to understand that it’s not a game. That’s the whole thing. They call it a game, and it’s not a game. People get hurt real bad." Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website, or by texting CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.
Tagged
assault
attack
bowery
knockout
knockout game
LES
Lower East Side
manhattan
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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