NYPD investigating random attacks on women across city

NEW YORK - Police have arrested a man they say randomly punched a woman in the face in Chelsea. 

Halley Kate's video about the attack went viral on TikTok, garnering tens of millions of views. 

Word of the arrest comes as NYPD sources confirm they are now looking into seven similar random attacks on women between March 25-27 in Chinatown, the West Village, Chelsea and Midtown. All of the victims were punched in the head and assaulted while walking.

"This is real, and so we want to make sure that we called it out as such and warned women about this," said Julie Menin, co-chair of the City Council's women's caucus. "It's completely unacceptable. These women were literally walking down the street and randomly are getting punched in the face."

Skiboky Stora, 40, was arrested Wednesday. Police say Stora randomly attacked Kate, 23, while she was walking on Seventh Avenue near 17th Street just after 10 a.m. Monday. He faces misdemeanor assault and harassment charges. According to court documents, the assault was captured on surveillance video. 

Stora has a history of similar assaults, police said. He had been arrested in December following two other alleged assaults. He is being held on $10,000 bail.

So far, of the recent assaults the NYPD is looking into, Stora has only been connected to the assault on Kate. He remains a suspect in several of the other open cases, sources said. 

"You guys, I was literally just walking, and a man came up and punched me in the face," Kate said in her video, while displaying a large bump on her forehead. "Oh my God, it hurts so bad. I can't even talk. Literally, I fell to the ground and now this giant goose egg is forming." 

Her viral post helped shine a light on a handful of similar posts by other women, who also described being randomly attacked. 

"I literally just got punched by some man on the sidewalk. He goes 'Sorry' and then punches me in the head," Olivia Brand said in a video posted on TikTok on March 17. 

Another woman said she was attacked on March 19 at around 8 p.m. near Delancey Street. Sarah Suzuki Harvard claimed a man came up from behind her and punched her in the back of the head. 

Mikayla Toninato, a student at Parsons School of Design, claimed she was attacked at random on Tuesday after she left the school. 

"I was looking down, and I was looking at my phone, and, like, texting, and then out of nowhere this man just came up and hit me in the face," she said in a video posted to TikTok.

Surveillance video caught an attack on a woman walking down Grand Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, on Tuesday.

"He broke all my jaw, both sides," she told "Inside Edition."

The woman's jaw had to be wired shut and she lost three teeth.

Officers arrested the suspect in that attack and charged him with misdemeanor assault -- a crime that's not bail eligible, so he's back on the street.

"Is there a concern that it's not clear that this is all the same person?" CBS New York's Lisa Rozner asked Menin.

"It's definitely not clear it's the same person. In my conversations with NYPD, it seems to be more than one person," Menin said. "One person is obviously one too many, but it becomes even more alarming if this is becoming a pattern in practice."

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The NYPD released a statement on X Wednesday night about Kate's attack. 

"The NYPD 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 and is a criminal recidivist with an extensive criminal record," the NYPD posted. "Your NYPD detectives were able to identify the man after he was previously arrested for similar attacks, only to be released back onto our streets. This incident will be his third arrest in the past six months. Your officers will continue to remain resilient in their efforts to stop violent criminals, ensuring the safety of our communities."

The NYPD's statement again raises the question of how repeat offenders are handled by the justice system, something Mayor Eric Adams has spoken about repeatedly. 

Most recently, Adams brought up the recidivism issue in the wake of the killing of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, who was allegedly shot by a man arrested on a gun charge in April of 2023. 

Police are urging anyone who may have also been a victim to come forward.

Jesse Zanger

Jesse Zanger is the managing editor of CBSNewYork.com.