Random attacks in Denver version of "knockout game"?
DENVER, Colo. - Authorities are investigating three violent attacks in Denver that could be related to a recent phenomenon known as the “knockout game, reports CBS Denver.
The attacks reportedly took place on New Year’s Eve. The victims say they were approached by complete strangers and that they were random attacks.
“I just remember having my hand on my face and having a bloody nose,” victim Nick Lloyd told the station.
Police say at least four people were assaulted in the three separate attacks, according to the station.
Lloyd was waiting for a ride with a friend when he was knocked to the ground.
“He got hit, I got hit. We were picking each other up, and that’s really all I remember of the whole ordeal,” Lloyd said. “So my lower jaw is broken on both sides … my whole cheek is pushed in.”
He will reportedly need metal plates to reconstruct his face.
“It was just out of nowhere. They didn’t say anything, there was no warning, we had no change to defend ourselves or do anything about it,” Lloyd told CBS Denver.
He thinks he may be a victim of the “knockout game,” where unsuspecting people are knocked out at random with one punch, supposedly for the sheer thrill of it.
Denver police reportedly have not confirmed whether the attacks are related to the phenomenon. The investigation is ongoing.
“By geographic and the type of assaults they were, we feel like we potentially might have had a pattern that evening of individuals going around assaulting people, so we’re concerned,” Sonny Jackson with the Denver police told the station.
Police haven’t named any suspects.
The police report gives a very vague description of the suspects, saying only that it was a group of African-American men. Police are hoping to hear from anyone who might know something about the assaults.