One aggressive citizen is fighting back against the “Knockout” game.
And there could be more.
Is street justice the answer to a violent game where some black teenagers identify an unsuspecting victim and deliver a cold-hearted sucker punch that is so forceful, it renders the person unconscious?
Here’s one story about the consequences teens face when playing “Knockout.”
A black teenager from Lansing, Michigan who assaulted a man during the game of “Knockout” was shot twice when the intended victim decided to defended himself.
Marvell Weaver, 17, was playing “Knockout” and attempted to attack his victim with a stun gun before presumably hitting him. But the victim surprised Weaver because he was carrying a legally concealed pistol and he shot Weaver twice.
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The victim, a 28-year-old father, said he noticed a vehicle driving through the streets but didn’t think much about it.
“I saw the van circle twice, and the second time three kids came out,” the victim, who chose to remain anonymous, told reporters. “I didn’t suspect anything. I hadn’t any enemies, or any reason to believe they would be looking to do anything to me.”
The victim said Weaver hopped out of the van, approached him, and stuck a stun gun into the victim’s side. But when the stun gun misfired, Weaver turned to run away.
That’s when the victim pulled out his pistol and shot Weaver twice in the butt. The victim was not looking for trouble, but he was prepared for it.
“It happened so fast I wasn’t sure,” said the victim, who was waiting for his 6-year-old daughter to get dropped off from school at a bus stop.
“I just know something was shoved into my side,” the victim said. “I wasn’t sure if it was a knife, if it was anything.”
Will Weaver’s shooting in Michigan deter other black teenagers across the country who play “Knockout?” And is it wise for citizens to fight back against teenagers who are using unsuspecting residents as human punching bags?
Weaver, who said he had played “Knockout” about seven times before, apologized to the victim after he was shot.
“I’m sorry, please don’t kill me,” Weaver said. “I don’t know why I did that. I’m high, you know. I just wanna go home.”
Weaver, who was arrested and is now in jail, told reporters that he is remorseful.
“It was just a lesson learned,” Weaver sad. “I wish I hadn’t played the game at all.”
But Lansing police said Weaver’s story should serve as warning to others who play the “Knockout” game.
“There’s a price to pay if they wind up doing it,” Lansing Police spokesman Robert Merritt said.
The intended victim in Michigan was not charged with a crime because he was carrying a legal handgun. But it would behoove citizens who are thinking about arming themselves to ask their local law enforcement officials about gun laws in their cities.
Not every citizen will want to carry a gun. So should more Americans arm themselves with mace, or take a self-defense class, to defend themselves against “Knockout?
Meanwhile, Rev. Al Sharpton rightfully condemned “Knockout” attacks by some black teens.
“This kind of behavior is deplorable and must be condemned by all us,” Sharpton said last weekend. “We would not be silent if it was the other way around. We cannot be silent or in any way reluctant to confront it when it is coming from our own community.”
“Kids are randomly knocking out people [from] another race — some specifically going at Jewish people,” he added. “This kind of insane thuggery — there is nothing cute about that. There is no game play about knocking somebody out, and it is not a game. It is an assault and is bias, and it is wrong.”
What do you think?
