CENTRAL PARK — A man playing Pokémon GO in Central Park early Monday morning was punched in the head and robbed of the three cellphones he was carrying, police said — while livestreaming the incident online, according to a video posted on YouTube.
The 43-year-old victim — who posted a live-streaming video of his quest for Pokemon on the gamer site Twitch TV under the handle RickeyBot — was near the Central Park South and Sixth Avenue Central Park entrance when he was punched in the back of the head and robbed of his three phones at around 12:20 a.m., police said.
One of the phones apparently captured video of the attack — which was uploaded to YouTube 2 hours after the attack by user Ghosty.
The victim narrates his Pokémon pursuit to his viewers as his attacker can be seen on video approaching him from behind.
“Take that sh-- off,” the thief demanded after he slammed the Pokémon player to the ground.
The video shows the sudden punch, and then shows the suspect standing over the victim as he pleads, “No, no, please!” The camera continued to record as the suspect raced away into the darkness.
A Twitter user called @rickeybot identified himself as the victim two hours after the attack and updated followers on his condition.
I got mugged playing Pokémon GO in Central Park. Still talking to police and will go to hospital soon. My jaw is a mess. Thanks all.
— rickeybot (@rickeybot) September 19, 2016
Rickeybot did not immediately respond to a Twitter request for comment, but told his followers he had only one complaint about his injuries, which he described as a swollen jaw, a bump on the head, and a scratch on the elbow.
Oh great, just discovered I need to drink everything via straw now
— rickeybot (@rickeybot) September 19, 2016
The suspect, described as a 6-foot-tall man in a black T-shirt and red shorts, fled the scene and ran northbound into the park, police said. No arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon, according to police.
