UPDATED 3/29, 2:20 p.m. ET: The man who allegedly punched several women in the face has been arrested.
As reported by the New York Post, 40-year-old Skiboky Stora was taken into custody on Wednesday, March 27 and charged with assault for his involvement in the attack on TikTok user Halley Kate Mcgookin.
Stora reportedly ran for mayor, governor, and city council in the past three years and runs at least 10 TikTok accounts showing him engaging in aggressive behavior with strangers in NYC. In one clip, he can be seen making smug comments as a woman tells a police officer that Stora attacked her in the subway. "I went all the way on the other side, he followed me and started recording me," she told the officer as Stora, who said he was running as a "Freedom Party" candidate, dismissed the woman as a "Democrat."
"This is real, and so we want to make sure that we called it out as such and warned women about this," said NYC Council women's caucus co-chair Julie Menin, per CBS News. "It's completely unacceptable. These women were literally walking down the street and randomly are getting punched in the face."
Police added that Stora has been arrested for assault in the past. In December, he was arrested for two alleged attacks. He is currently being held on $10,000 bail.
UPDATED 3/28, 6:02 p.m. ET: Bethenny Frankel revealed she was also the victim of a random street attack in New York City.
As pointed out by TMZ, the reality TV star made the claim while responding to Mikayla Toninato, a TikTok user who recalled getting punched by a man while walking home from school.
“This is insane [because] this happened to me a few months ago but I was embarrassed to say,” 53-year-old Frankel wrote in a since-deleted comment. “I was on the [Upper West Side]. Insane. I was taking video of a bakery.”
Frankel has yet to address the incident on her socials; however, insiders told TMZ that she did not remove her own comment.
See original story below.
Multiple women have recently shared TikTok videos saying they were punched in the face by random men in the middle of the day in Manhattan, New York City.
As reported by the New York Post, several women with sizeable TikTok followings said they were attacked unprovoked. "You guys, I was literally just walking, and a man came up and punched me in the face," said TikTok user Halley Kate in a video where a noticeable mark could be seen on her face. "Oh my God, it was so bad, I can’t even talk."
She later shared an update video and confirmed she reported the attack to the New York Police Department.
TikTok creator Mikayla Toninato responded to Kate's video by sharing her similar experience. "I just got punched in the face, walking home," she shared. "I was literally like leaving class, I turned the corner and I was looking down and I was looking at my phone and texting and then, out of nowhere, this man just came up and hit me in the face."
She said the assault happened at West 14th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan as she walked home from Greenwich Village’s Parsons School of Design.
A viral clip from a third woman named Olivia Brand surfaced, echoing the experiences Kate and Toninato had. "I literally got punched in the head on the sidewalk. He goes, ‘Sorry,’ and then punches me," she shared. "Holy crap, what the hell just happened? Oh my God."
The NYPD said they received reports of the attacks from both Kate and Brand, the former of whom was treated for injuries at a nearby medical facility.
Per NBC News, comedian Sarah Harvard also shared her experience of an alleged assault. "I was not on my phone. I was walking somewhere, and I got attacked from behind," said the 30-year-old, who said the attack happened close to Delancey Street and Essex Street station. "So it’s really violating that I didn’t see it coming and there was nothing I could’ve done, really, to prevent it from happening."
Harvard said she didn't report the attack at first but felt compelled to do so after seeing the viral videos of women sharing their experiences.
Officials said it's unclear if the incidents are connected.
