Knock-out game in Brooklyn: 9-year-old boy and 76 year old woman attacked

The 'knockout game' in Crown Heights, Brooklyn is gaining momentum: on Monday a boy of nine was attacked, when he returned from the Talmud Torah - two young black girls. The attack occurred at the corner of Laparez Street, when two young women came up to him and struck him in the head. The boy fell to the floor and the girls fled, laughing.

The boy was lightly wounded in the head and was accompanied by his parents the local police station, where he was asked to try to identify the attackers.

On Tuesday evening, a 76 -year-old haredi woman, who returned from shopping on Kingston street, was attacked. The attackers hit her head, the woman collapsed - and the youngsters fled without touching her purse or her carrying bags.

In the so-called 'knockout game' - the new game adopted by young blacks in Crown Heights, they are attacking pedestrians, beating their head, and competing to see who could bring down the victim with one blow. The game spread in the neighborhood in recent weeks, and is terrorizing Haredi residents.

In many cases, the group filmed their friend trying to land a knockout at bystanders and uploaded the videos to the Internet.

The frequency of attacks and their character, along with multiple burglaries into haredi homes on Friday nights, led the neighborhood activists to turn to politicians and especially the media, while blaming the police for not doing enough to protect residents and thus encouraging violence.

The move yielded results, when the media reported extensively on the phenomenon and asked for the intervention of leaders of the blacks in the neighborhood. On Monday, after the attack on the 9 year old boy, black leaders held a press conference at the corner of Kingston and Empire Streets, in which they strongly condemned the phenomenon and said that they are working to eradicate it.

Meanwhile, the police realized that the situation in the neighborhood is getting out of control. Yesterday was the first meeting attended by heads of the neighborhood, the Jewish aldermen alongside black leaders, municipal representatives and representatives of the police. Members of the neighborhood committee presented the attacks last month, Friday night home invasions, and thrusts of the 'knockout game' by young black men on young Jews.

Black community leaders tried to explain and defend, but also condemned and agreed to cooperate in order to prevent additional cases.

Among those present was retiring Brooklyn President Marty Markowitz, who emphatically announced: "All forms of violence, on any citizen in our community here in Brooklyn, will be met with intolerance and zero restraint by the law enforcement. Propaganda effort is needed, youth who are growing up here, they must respect the diversity of different publics - white and black, and act with mutual respect." He promised to unleash the punishment provided by law with the rioters who attacked in recent weeks Jewish youth.

Meanwhile, police reinforced its troops in the neighborhood. Mounted policemen and cars are roaming through the streets of the neighborhood to protect the Jews. City authorities are considering to accuse suspects of hate crimes.