A man accused of participating in the “knockout game,” in which an attacker targets an unsuspecting victim and delivers a sucker-punch, was charged with assaulting an Orthodox Jewish man in Brooklyn.
Amrit Marajh of Brooklyn was arraigned Nov. 23 and released on $750 bail after being charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment. He was not charged with a hate crime, according to the New York Times.
The 24-year-old Orthodox man said he was boxed in by a group of men and punched out by one of them early Nov. 22. The victim said he heard the alleged attacker and his friends talking about the game, in which the attackers try to knock out someone with one punch.
At least seven such attacks have taken place in the Brooklyn area since September, most directed at identifiably Jewish people, according to reports.
Marajh said in court that he never heard of the game and did not hit the victim.
Other incidents of knockout have occurred in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., the Associated Press reported. — jta