Over the past week, several women have come forward on TikTok revealing that a man in New York City randomly attacked them. Apparently, among these victims was Bethenny Frankel, who claims a stranger punched her.
Bethenny commented on one of the videos stating, “This is insane bc this happened to me a few months ago but I was embarrassed to say. I was on the UWS. Insane. I was taking video of a bakery.” She has since deleted her comment.
Mikayla Toninato, a student who was walking home from class when a random man attacked her, posted the video to her TikTok account earlier this week.
“I just got punched in the face walking home,” the fashion design student said in her TikTok. “I turned the corner and I was looking down … looking at my phone and texting, and then out of nowhere, this man just came up and hit me in the face.”
She went on to say she was in shock. When she told her friends about the instance, they informed her that another girl — Halley Kate, an influencer — had posted a similar story on TikTok.
“I don’t know if this is a thing that’s going around,” Mikayla continued. “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 … I guess we’re gonna be super aware of our surroundings.”
Bethenny Frankel Among NYC ‘Punch’ Victims
According to Page Six, “The police said it was unclear whether the viral incidents were connected. However, the attacks appear similar to an emerging — and disturbing — trend in NYC called the ‘knockout game’ in which young people dare each other to sucker-punch a stranger.”
However, on Wednesday, police arrested a man (Skiboky Stora, 40) and linked him to Halley Kate’s attack. According to USA Today, “Police did not elaborate on what led them to the suspect.” As of Wednesday afternoon, Skiboky is in jail while police continue the investigation.
The most shocking part? For the past three years, Skiboky actually ran for mayor, governor, and City Council.
It’s unclear whether Skiboky is the same man who assaulted the other women — including Bethenny. In fact, many people believe the string of attacks is part of a larger issue. Some even believe there’s some sort of “trend” involving multiple aggressors.
In addition to Bethenny’s since-deleted comment on the original video, other TikTokers left comments about how this was the third video of the same type of incident they saw within a span of 30 minutes. Most of the commenters were concerned women, many of whom mentioned they were afraid to leave their NYC apartments.