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Knockout Game Video: Police In Paterson, New Jersey, Hunt For Attacker Who Knocked Out Unsuspecting Man, Posted Video To Facebook

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 23:20 PST, Feb 5, 2016

Video of a brutal knockout has sent police in Paterson, New Jersey, on the hunt for a teen who threw a punch at an unsuspecting man’s face that sent him crashing to the sidewalk pavement unconscious.

Video of the incident has made the rounds online this week, showing the attacker egging on the victim and then laying out the man for no apparent reason, NJ reported. It appeared to be part of what is known as the knockout game, where attackers pick an apparently vulnerable person and try to knock them out with a single punch, often recording the assault.

The attack was caught on video and then uploaded to Facebook, where it went viral. The video has spread even further, with a post on Reddit leading to outrage and causing many to hunt down the identity of the attacker.

So far, it appears both the attacker and the victim remain unknown. It is also not known what condition the victim may be in after the knockout game attack.

Now police in Paterson are on the hunt for the knockout game perpetrator. The department released a statement Friday noting that an active investigation was under way.

“The Paterson Police Department has seen the assault video that has recently been posted on Facebook and another social media websites. We want to thank all the concerned citizens that have shared and reported the disturbing video to us We are currently investigating the video and will update the public as to the outcome.”

The internet has already shown this week that people who film their crimes are often met with swift justice. Just a few days before the Paterson knockout game video began circulating, another disturbing video hit the internet showing a young man boiling a pot of water and then throwing it on a cat that had been on his back porch.

The video was believed to have been taken around Greenville, South Carolina, and many people sent police tips about where it may have been filmed and who was involved, WNCT reported.

The Greenville Police Department later shared an update on Facebook, saying they were looking into the video and were already talking to the person who uploaded it.

“We wanted to reassure everyone that we have taken this video seriously. Very early this morning, we were able to determine that the individual who posted this video does NOT live in Greenville; however, it’s possible he visits this area. Early this morning, our telecommunicators were able to identify an address for him in Martin County. They immediately notified authorities with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, who located him a little after 8:00 AM today. Our detectives are currently in Martin County, working with members of the Martin County Sheriff’s office, to interview the individual who posted this video. We would like to reiterate that no one has been arrested at this point. We are still in the very preliminary stages of an investigation. Detectives have not yet determined who the person is in the video, where this occurred, or IF this occurred in Eastern North Carolina.”

It turned out that the video was actually from Chicago, and police arrested 18-year-old Leon Teague for the crime, NBC Chicago reported.

The Paterson knockout game video can be seen here, but be warned that it may be disturbing for some viewers. The Paterson police department has asked anyone with information about the attack to leave them information here.

[Picture by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]

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