RPD's Sheppard: Attack caught on video not 'knockout' game

The attack caught on video depicting what appears to be a young man knocking another person to the ground was likely not an example of a "knockout" attack, police said Thursday.

Police have determined that the attacker and the person being struck knew each other, and likely had an ongoing problem with each other.

Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard on Tuesday said the community had been "begging" his office to step up their investigation of the online video that appears to be an example of the growing national phenomenon, the "knockout game."

On Thursday, Sheppard said investigators now believe it was not a random act of violence, though they are still investigating the action as a crime.

Sheppard said investigators have since met with some of the people responsible for the video, which first appeared on a Facebook account and moved to other online video sites.

He had asked the community to help identify the victim, a person who appears to be a man walking near the intersection of Bloss and Backus streets in a southwest section of the city when he is punched in the head and knocked to the ground.

The attacker appears, according to Sheppard and others, to be a young man wearing a backpack, possibly on his way to school. After the person is knocked down, the attacker hits him again. The person recording the event giggles.

In other parts of the country, the "knockout game" has been the cause of several devastating attacks — including deaths. In Syracuse, two men have been killed.

Sheppard and other officials have said Rochester has not experienced a problem with the activity. It is typical, however, for an attacker in a robbery to strike an unsuspecting person to stun them and steal their property.

JHAND@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/jonhand1