'Knockout' videos show random, brutal attacks

Morgan Fecto | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Knockout videos show disturbing trend | USA NOW Hadley Malcolm hosts USA NOW on a new "game" that has teens trying to knock random passersby unconscious with a single punch.

Knockout has been blamed for at least two deaths

The %27game%27 involves random attacks on the street

A violent game blamed for at least two deaths could be gaining popularity with urban teens as brutal videos go viral.

"Knockout," sometimes called "One-Hitter-Quitter," involves randomly selecting a pedestrian and punching them in the face or head with a goal of knocking them unconscious.

Knockout has caused deaths in New York and St. Louis, and attacks in Chicago, Washington and elsewhere, police say.



"This type of aggressive behavior is very troubling," said Catherine Bradshaw, a deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Prevention of Youth Violence.

"They're clearly modeling this type of behavior," said Bradshaw, who cited violent YouTube clips, video games and movies as numbing young people to such aggressive acts. "You get that repeated exposure and you no longer have that empathy for the target."

Although viral videos are not a sole cause for this type of behavior, Bradshaw said, they can skew the worldview of individuals who are already attracted to violence.

One YouTube video that has drawn more than 560,000 views shows a teacher being punched and falling on his face. Later in the video, a young man explains that teens play Knockout "for the fun of it."

"Little kids run around and hit people and knock them out," he said. "Even though they shouldn't be doing it, people do it."

Contributing: Mola Lenghi, WUSA-TV