A violent new trend amongst young people is sweeping the nation, called "knock out" or "knocking out," with incidents being reported in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Chicago.
The brutal rules of the game include a group of young men or even boys as young as 12, and teenage girls in some cases, who choose a lead attacker and seek out a victim. The goal in the beating is not revenge or robbery. The victim is usually a random person unlikely to put up a fight. Many of the victims have been elderly people walking alone. The group then begins attacking the person until they are unconscious or badly hurt.
Experts say it's a cry for attention.
"We know that juveniles don't think out consequences clearly," said Beth Huebner, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. "They see something on YouTube and say, 'I want to get that sort of attention, too.' They don't think about the person they're attacking maybe hitting their head."
Source: foxnews.com
