In doing some research about the “knockout game,” we discovered that it has been around since 1992 under a variety of names. So it is nothing new. Here’s how it works. An individual attacks another person, a complete stranger, and attempts to knock the victim out with a single blow and preferably has one of his mates record the incident for posterity.
Many law enforcement agencies have publicly expressed their doubts about the existence of such a game. But because of all the publicity recently, the knockout game has moved out of the shadows and into the public eye creating copycat crimes. It could be coming to your neighborhood soon.
According to prosecutors, the perpetrator had been working up to playing the knockout game for approximately a week and wanted to see if it could be televised nationally. The victim had two jaw fractures and spent several days in a hospital as a result of the attack.
Admittedly, at least so far, most attacks are simple assaults without the hate crime moniker which brings with it more serious charges and involvement of the feds. They are difficult to prosecute for a couple of reasons but mostly because the attacks happen so fast the victim is really unable to remember what the assailant looked like.
Several self-defense products can help you defend yourself against hate crimes such as the knockout game and improve your personal safety. For example, this Mace brand Triple Action Spray has a teargas component as well as a UV marking dye to identify an assailant after an attack.
This Keychain Pepper Spray also has a tear gas component and a marking dye for assailant identification but is slightly more potent than the Mace brand.
Since relatively few of these assaults are on record with the Police Department it is difficult to predict which areas of your city are “playgrounds for this game.” The best advice is to always carry a self-defense product with you, so you can defend yourself against an assault and help improve your personal safety.
Pepper sprays have ranges up to 12 to 15 feet with good results. They are on average close to 90% effective and are legal just about everywhere. A shot of a pepper spray can put an assailant out of action for close to 45 minutes.