UPGRADE 3/27/24: An NYPD representative informs Glamour that deputies have actually jailed a 40-year-old Brooklyn local, Skiboky Stora, for attack in connection with the attack on a 23-year-old in Manhattan on Monday, and the examination stays continuous.
Gizem Sirmali had actually resided in New York City for 3 days when a complete stranger struck her in the face on the walkway.
The material developer is initially from Turkey, and had actually relocated to Manhattan from Germany for a two-month scholarship program through a marketing company. On February 7 she had actually been walking Soho, where her workplace lay. She informs Glamour that she keeps in mind being sidetracked, taking images and videos, thrilled to be in the city and utilizing a map on her phone to direct her to her next location.
“I was entirely concentrated on my phone,” Sirmali remembers. “I was not familiar with my environments, which was bad.”
All of a sudden, she felt it, out of no place.
“It was more like a slap,” she states. “Someone approached me when I was looking down and after that simply left. It occurred so quickly. I was similar to, ‘What? Did that occur? Or is it like, I’m simply dreaming?’ I was so surprised.”
Horrified, she froze. She didn’t browse for her enemy; she didn’t scream. It took place too rapidly for her to get a description, aside from the truth, she states, that the male was much shorter than her.
“And then I simply kept strolling to the workplace due to the fact that I was frightened,” she states.
It was a terrible experience, one that Sirmali states she has actually worked to attempt and carry on from. She even published a video on TikTok about it, composing, “Is this part of NYC life?” In the video she holds a cup of ice to her face, which she states was bruised for days later.
Her video got some compassion, however then, all of a sudden today, it took off in views. Commenters started informing her that she wasn’t the only one.
Several ladies have actually been reporting through TikTok that they have actually been assaulted in a strangely comparable way. The occurrences started to get more attention on the app when an NYC-based influencer called Halley Kate Mcgookin published that she had actually been “typed the face” by a random male on the walkway. The video, in which a tearful Mcgookin reveals the cam a huge welt on her forehead, has actually given that been seen more than 30 million times.
In follow-up videos, Mcgookin states she was strolling on the walkway, sending out an e-mail from her phone, when she was either punched or “body-checked” by a guy strolling a canine, who continued to shout at her. She went to immediate care and submitted a cops report.
In reaction to a query about Mcgookin’s video, a representative for the NYPD informs Glamour that it was examining a Monday occurrence in which a 23-year-old was struck in the head by an unidentified person. The representative stated no arrests have actually been made and an examination is continuous.
Considering that Mcgookin published her video, a growing number of accounts emerged on the app. In reaction to Mcgookin’s video, one female, called Mikayla, stated a comparable thing occurred to her. She was taking a look at her phone and after that she was struck.
And after that in action to Mikayla, another lady shared her story, stating she was punched on March 23.
As the story grew, individuals likewise have actually discovered videos from previously this year, and are improving them since they appear to be falling in line with the pattern, like Sirmali’s video from February. A female called Olivia stated she was punched on the street previously in March.
And a female called Jill stated she was attacked the week before Sirmali.
While much of these accounts share resemblances– like the reality that they are all girls, and numerous state they were taking a look at their phones when struck– it’s uncertain whether this is simply a coincidence or a larger pattern. The NYPD representative did not react when asked whether the department was taking a look at the attacks as a group, and lots of, consisting of Sirmali, never ever reported their attacks to the authorities at all.
In a follow-up video, Mcgookin stated she didn’t believe it looked like all the attacks were by the exact same individual, stating, “It might simply be rather typical.” She prompted audiences to not get too brought away, stating she’s constantly felt safe in the city before this occurrence.
Sirmali states she hopes the increased attention might assist in stopping this from taking place to any others.
“It was a huge shock and experience in my life, and I feel so sorry now that it’s taking place to more individuals,” she stated.
And while, obviously, ladies ought to have the ability to take a look at their phone or be sidetracked while strolling in the city without being attacked, Sirmali stated she published her video to alert individuals to constantly look out.
“It altered my habits for 2 months,” she states. “I never ever took a look at my phone when I was strolling.”