“knockout game” is a vicious street-game craze that originated in the US, whereby passers-by are punched for the fun of it.
A Bangladeshi national has died in Pisa in Italy after being punched in the head while walking in the city centre in an attack characteristic of the so-called “knockout game”, reported Italy-based English news edition The Local.
The Bangladeshi was named as Zakir Hoassini by the newspaper.
Zakir, who had been working as a waiter, died on Tuesday “after 24 hours of agony” following the unsolicited attack.
“knockout game” is a vicious street-game craze that originated in the US, whereby passers-by are punched for the fun of it.
The unsolicited attack happened in central Pisa. Photo: TheArgenberg/Flickr
According to the report, the “murder” has caused uproar among Pisa’s Bangladeshi community, who rallied on the spot on Tuesday night, demanding “justice.”
An estimated 1,500 people, including the Bangladeshi ambassador, are mulling to hold another march protesting the “killing” on Friday.
Police are said to be “close to finding the attacker”, who they believe is a young Italian man with a “hefty” physique, the website reported.
According to Blitz Quotidiano’s report, surrounded by three friends, the attacker was caught on surveillance camera provoking Hoassini, a father of three, and then punching him. The gang, thought to be aged between 25 and 35 later left the spot.
However, the reason behind the attack could not be known immediately.
The Blitz Quotidiano reported: “One theory is that the gang was playing ‘knockout’, a game that has swept across the US, claiming the lives of several people, with the point being to knock out the unsuspecting with a single punch.If so, it would be the first attack of its kind in Italy.”
Hoassini had been in Italy since 2009 and was a waiter in an Indian restaurant for the past two years.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
