Halley Kate Mcgookin, a social media influencer with over 1 million followers, recounted on the morning of March 25th that she was sending an email on her phone while walking in Manhattan when a man with a dog approached her and punched her in the face... without any warning.

"Guys, I was literally just walking and a man came up and punched me in the face", Mcgookin said in a video she recorded after the incident, which has been viewed over 46 million times.

"God, it hurts so much, I can't even speak. Literally, I fell to the ground, and now I have this giant bump." - she said, according to the New York Times.

Shana Davis-Ross, a spokesperson for Mcgookin, declined several requests for comments on the incident.

Police officials stated on March 27th that they have made an arrest in an attack matching the details of Mcgookin's case.

Other women have recently shared similar experiences on TikTok.

Mikayla Toninato, a 27-year-old student at Parsons School of Design, claims she was assaulted on 13th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Karina Dunford, a 24-year-old fashion model, also said she was attacked.

The random assaults come at a time when anxiety about city crime is on the rise. A recent decision by New York Governor Kathy Hochul to deploy the National Guard and State Police to monitor the New York subway system was largely in response to these concerns, though high-profile episodes garnering significant online coverage often have the potential to fuel a misleading impression of crime.

The police department declined to directly respond to questions about whether the incidents are part of a broader trend, instead pointing to a previous statement:

"The New York Police Department is aware of a viral video circulating on social media depicting a woman who was randomly assaulted in an unprovoked attack. The individual has been arrested and charged".

Toninato said in a phone interview that she was heading home on March 25th around 2:00 PM when a man approached her near Union Square and punched her in the face.

"I didn't see him coming because I was looking down, but it was a pretty empty sidewalk and there was no one around me", she said. "Then he punched me, and I screamed and turned around to see what had just happened. It felt like an out-of-body experience. I couldn't believe what had happened and turned back, and the man was staring at me as he walked away".

Toninato said that when she messaged her friends to tell them what had just happened, they responded by sending her Mcgookin's video.

On March 26th, prompted by her TikTok followers, Toninato went to the emergency room, where she said doctors told her she had a concussion. She also had a bruised eye and a chipped tooth.

A medical note reviewed by The New York Times confirmed that Toninato was seen on March 26th at New York University Langone.

Dunford said in a phone interview that she was walking on Avenue of the Americas near 23rd Street on March 26th when a man approached her from behind and punched her hard in the back of the head with a closed fist.

When she turned around, he was staring at her, holding his arm outstretched, seemingly ready to strike again. She screamed, and passersby physically separated him from her before he walked away.

Mayor Eric Adams said on March 26th at a press conference that the city is troubled by "random acts of violence".

According to New York Police Department statistics, felony assaults increased by 3% from the previous year, and misdemeanor assaults increased by 10% during the same period.

In another interview last week on "The Reset Talk Show", Adams said that social media could make these acts seem more frequent than they are.

"When you have random acts of violence repeatedly emphasized", he said, "showing videos endlessly - it plays into how people feel about the subway system".

Adam Scott Wandt, associate professor and deputy director for technology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said: "When a story about a punch in the head goes viral on social media and then travels across the country, it can quickly overshadow the fact that New York City is also a relatively safe city to walk around in. Incidents like this on social media can create the impression that New York is a much more violent and crime-ridden city than it actually is".

"It's also important to remember that mainstream media likes to cover stories about violence, and people are drawn to watch violence on social media", he added, "which increases the chances of something going viral and being seen by many".

Toninato, who is originally from Minnesota and moved to New York in August, said the incident has made her afraid to leave her apartment.

"I never would have thought to post a TikTok about this, but when my friend sent me Halley's video, it made me realize that it could be a recurring thing", she said. "I just wanted to warn other people and try to prevent this from happening again".

Dunford expressed her feelings:

"I'm not someone who makes TikToks - it's the second video I've ever made in my life", she said in the interview. "My intention here, very, very clearly, is for people to know that this is happening".