Actor Steve Buscemi was seemingly randomly assaulted while walking in New York, the latest of several celebrities to be attacked in the city. News of Buscemi’s injuries came not long after TikTok videos went viral from New York women who had similar things happen to them.
According to The New York Times, Buscemi was walking around noon in the Kips Bay neighborhood of the city in early May 2024 when a stranger approached the actor and punched him in the face. Buscemi was not at first identified as the victim of the attack, but his publicist later confirmed it was him. The Boardwalk Empire star was treated at a nearby hospital for bleeding, swelling, and bruising to his left eye.
In a statement, Buscemi’s publicist thanked the public for their well wishes on Buscemi’s behalf, said the actor was fine, and added Buscemi felt “incredibly sad for everyone that this has happened to while also walking the streets of New York.”
Buscemi’s Boardwalk Empire co-star, Michael Stuhlberg was also recently assaulted
It’s unclear whether the two incidents were related in any way, but in what may have been a coincidence, Steve Buscemi’s attack happened just months after his Boardwalk Empire co-star, Michael Stuhlberg, was struck by a rock in the back of the neck while walking in Central Park. In that case, Stuhlberg chased his assailant, 27-year-old Xavier Israel, who was later arrested. Stuhlberg was not seriously injured.
It’s not publicly known why Israel threw the rock at Stuhlberg, but around that same time, Stuhlberg was set to play a Russian oligarch in a Broadway show who was involved in the political career of Vladimir Putin. Israel was taken into custody near the Russian consulate. Stuhlberg aside, Broadway stars John Cardoza and Ryan Steele were also randomly attacked around that time, but there were no known connections between the three incidents.
No arrests were made in Buscemi’s case
Unlike Michael Stuhlberg, as of this report, no arrests were made in connection to Steve Buscemi’s assault in early May. According to CNN, the NYPD released surveillance footage of what happened, including images of the man who allegedly punched Buscemi, and asked for the public’s help to identify him. “The individual is described as a male with dark complexion, wearing a dark colored baseball style cap, blue t-shirt, black pants, white sneakers, and carrying a bookbag,” the NYPD said.
Random women have also been attacked in New York
Around the same time Steve Buscemi and Michael Stuhlberg’s assaults were in the news, several viral TikTok posts brought to light stories of women who said they were also randomly hit in the face in the city. In April 2024 CNN spoke with six women who shared similar stories. Arrests were made in some cases. The attacks mentioned came amid an uptick in violent crime in New York, which local authorities and political leaders were taking to address.
Speaking with The New York Times, however, John Jay College of Criminal Justice associate professor, Adam Scott Wandt, pointed out that when stories go viral online it creates the impression that whatever happened is far more common than it might be. “Incidents like this on social media can create the impression New York City is a far more violent and crime-ridden city than it actually is,” he said.