2nd arrest made after multiple women share stories of random punching attacks in NYC on TikTok

Friday, March 29, 2024

Man charged in attack of TikTok influencer as NYPD investigates 6 other assaultsThe attack comes as a recent trend of people being punched in NYC has gained steam.

NEW YORK -- Two suspects have been arrested for punching women in New York City.

One 40-year-old man has been charged in the assault of a TikTok influencer in New York City earlier this week as several women have come forward to share similar stories.

Influencer Halley McGookin -- who goes by "Halley Kate" -- made a tearful video recalling an attack on March 25 in Chelsea near W 16th St and 7th Avenue.

McGookin posted several times about the assault on social media and within a few days, her story has gotten over 5 million likes. Skiboky Stora has since been charged in the attack.

Stora himself has somewhat of a following on Instagram. He maintains multiple TikTok accounts showing him aggressively approaching police and strangers, many of them women. He is being held on $10,000 bail.

This incident comes on the heels of a recent wave of women saying they were also randomly punched while walking in New York City.

Mallik Miah, a 30-year-old Brooklyn man, has been charged with assault after being arrested in Greenwich Village, according to ABC News reporter Aaron Katersky.

Miah is accused of punching Mikayla Toninato, a 27-year-old student at the Parsons School of Design, in the face in front of 65 Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village around 2 p.m. Monday. He has not been linked to any other assaults.

There are at least five additional incidents of women punched who later posted about it that police are still investigating. All of the incidents happened within the last two weeks and all happened in Manhattan -- specifically Midtown and below. However, police do not believe any of the attacks are related.

- March 17 at 11:48 a.m.: 25-year-old Oliva Brand says she was punched in the head while walking her dog at Kenmare Street and Mulberry Street in Nolita. She says the man who hit her apologized.

- March 19 at 8 p.m.: 30-year-old Sarah Suzuki Harvard says she was punched on Delancey Street at Essex Street on the Lower East Side. She says she did not report the incident.

- March 23 at 1:30 p.m.: A 25-year-old woman says she was slapped in the forehead by an individual at West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue in Midtown.

- March 25: A 36-year-old woman says she was punched in the back by a man who ran up behind her at Rivington and Chrystie streets on the Lower East Side. She reportedly refused medical attention.

- March 25 at around 2 p.m.: 27-year-old Mikayla Toninato says she was punched in the face at West 14th Street and Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village. She says she reported the incident two days later.

- March 26 at 12:43 p.m.: A 24-year-old woman says she was punched in the head in front of 717 Avenue of the Americas in Chelsea. She reportedly refused medical attention. The NYPD released a photo of the suspect who attacked the victim in Chelsea Tuesday afternoon.