Chicago police have launched an investigation into a disturbing Internet video which shows a young man punching an apparently homeless older man, knocking him out cold on the platform at the CTA's Chicago Avenue Red Line station.
The video, posted last Saturday by WorldStarHipHop.com, shows a young man wearing black smiling before approaching an older man wearing a khaki jacket and tapping him on the shoulder. The two appear to exchange a few words before the young man suddenly punches the older man directly in the face, knocking him almost instantly onto the train platform floor, where he lies motionless.
The assailant and whomever filmed the video, meanwhile, board the train with friends, most of whom are laughing about the attack. One onlooker even mimics the punch as he laughs it off.
The incident, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, occurred in April, but police were apparently not aware of the attack until the video made its way online this week. The matter is now the subject of an open police investigation as detectives attempt to identify and find those involved.
(Scroll down to watch a video explaining a possible motive for the attack.)
The Chicago Tribune reports that police and paramedics were called to the station and the attacked man was treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and released.
The bizarre, seemingly random attack appeared to be a game called "Point 'Em Out, Knock 'Em Out," according to Fox Chicago. Bryce Rays, a communicators professor at Chicago State University explained to Fox that it's "a game that people play, they just randomly point at somebody and someone has to knock that person out, and if they don't they could get hit by one of their friends instead."
While some websites have apparently named the attacker, according to the Tribune, he has not yet been formally charged. Detectives must locate and identify the victim and ask if he wishes to file a complaint before charges can be filed, police told the Sun-Times.
Investigators are encouraging anyone with further information pertaining to the attack victim to contact police.