String of female NYC TikTokkers reveal they are being punched at random in daylight after Halley Kate showed horrific bruise on her forehead

By Martha Williams For Dailymail.Com

Published: 23:29 GMT, 26 March 2024 | Updated: 01:56 GMT, 27 March 2024

A string of NYC TikTokkers have claimed they have also been punched in the face while roaming the streets of Manhattan in the wake of a viral video. 

Social media influencer Halley Kate posted a clip after she was struck in broad daylight while walking around New York City.

Since the shocking confession video was uploaded online on Monday morning, a slew of others have now echoed her claims to say they have previously been victims of random violence on Manhattan's streets. 

TikTok personality Mikayla Toninato says she got punched in the face when she was walking home from class, in a video that has gained 7.4 million views. 

Toninato said she was looking at her phone and texting as a man came out of nowhere and hit her in the face. 

'I don't know if this is a thing that's going around,' Toninato said - referencing Halley Kate's similar story. 

She warned her followers to not walk around on their phones and be 'super aware' of their surroundings. 

Another person shared a video last week, on March 17, telling users that she had been randomly punched in New York City as well.

'I literally just got punched by some man on the sidewalk,' Olivia Brand said in her video - which has almost four million views.

'He goes "sorry" and then punches me in the head,' she said.

Yet another popular TikTok star uploaded a video on Monday, saying that she had also been punched in NYC. 

Selena Pikanab, who has over a million followers on the social media app, captioned her video 'Getting punched in NYC was not on my agenda today. This happened to me at around 1 pm and I had work immediately after.'

On Tuesday morning, a user on TikTok uploaded a video saying that she had also been punched in the head.

The user, @malous228, revealed that she had been hit on Saturday, March 23 in Times Square when she walking out of the subway station. 

She said a random man came up and punched her in the head. The TikTokker said she's still sore and that it was a 'traumatic experience'. 

She also managed to get a video of the alleged attacker after he had chased her. 

User flooded to the comments to voice their concern on the staggering number of attacks being reported.

'Just confirmed you're the fourth video I've seen about this in the last 12 hours,' a viewer commented on Pikanab's video.

'I just saw Halley’s video, then Olivia’s and now yours… all in a row. This is scary,' another said.

'WHAT IS HAPPENING IN NYC,' a user commented. 

'Why are we walking and not CALLING THE POLICE!!??' another commented on Toninato's video.  

NYPD confirmed with DailyMail.com that the Halley Kate filed a complaint with the police following the ordeal.

Officers confirmed the incident occurred while Kate 'was walking in the vicinity of West 16 Street and 7 Avenue, when an unknown individual hit her in the head.'

'The victim fell to the ground and suffered injuries to the left side of her face [and] was treated at a local medical facility.'

Police said that there have been no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing.

In an emotional video that has garnered more than 27 million views, Kate recorded herself moments after being punched in the face.

'You guys, I was literally just walking, and a man came up and punched me in the face,' Kate said in the video with tears streaming down her face.

'Oh my god, it was so bad, I can't even talk.'

The influencer, who has over one million followers on TikTok, said she lost consciousness and fell to the floor after the assault.

Kate posted a follow up video from the safety of her apartment, revealing what she described as a 'devil horn'-looking bump on the left side of her forehead.

'Yeah, I'm going to the hospital, oh my god, it looks like a f**king devil horn,' she said, having just noticed the bump starting to form while filming.

The content creator said the man, who has yet to be identified, had struck her while she was looking down at her phone to answer an email. 

'I literally passed out, so I don't really remember. But I guess he was really mad that my head was down - he was walking a dog, so he took it upon himself to attack me and let me know to be conscious of my surroundings,' Kate said.

After having regained consciousness, Kate said she woke up to the man screaming at her. 

The victim posted another TikTok in which she is icing her head with the caption, 'when you were supposed to record a podcast but now you're icing your head with a Trader Joe's acai packet waiting for the police to come.'

In a fourth video, Kate thanked her followers for their expressions of concern, and confirmed with the doctor that she would be okay but to look for symptoms such as vomiting or vision loss.

'I am going to be okay, I think I'm going to make a speedy recovery,' she said, saying she was experiencing a severe migraine.

As Kate's video gained traction, so did other stories from users claiming they have also been punched in the face by a male stranger, sparking outrage online about public safety in NYC.

'I have lived here for six years and I haven't had anything even remotely similar to what happened to me yesterday,' she said.

'While its obviously really upsetting and disgusting that women have to deal with shit like this, I personally am not gonna revolve my life around that one incident and be afraid to walk around the streets, go to restaurants - live my life. 

'I do think this serves as a good wake up call to be a little bit more aware of my surroundings, and that's not just in New York City, literally anywhere in the world.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to Kate for comment.