Random Attacks In LoDo Could Be Related To The 'Knockout Game'

DENVER (CBS4) - Denver police are investigating three violent attacks involving four victims in LoDo on New Year's Eve.

It's possible the attacks are part a violent game called the "Knockout Game" where a person is sucker punched for no reason. The victims from LoDo say they were approached by complete strangers, had no altercations that would lead up to a situation, and that they were random attacks.

CBS4 talked with one of the victims who doesn't know why he was targeted.

"I just remember having my hand on my face and having a bloody nose," victim Nick Lloyd said.

Police say at least four people were assaulted in three separate attacks. One occurred at 16th Street and Blake Street and two between Larimer and Market streets on 20th.

Lloyd was waiting for a ride with a friend when he was knocked to the ground.

"He got hit, I got hit. We were picking each other up, and that's really all I remember of the whole ordeal," Lloyd said. "So my lower jaw is broken on both sides … my whole cheek is pushed in."

He will now need metal plates to reconstruct his face.

"It was just out of nowhere. They didn't say anything, there was no warning, we had no change to defend ourselves or do anything about it," Lloyd said.

He thinks he may be a victim of the "Knockout Game." It's a dangerous trend where an unsuspecting person is hit at random, often knocked unconscious. Some deaths have even been reported.

"The other group that got attacked, it was four people and they hit three, and one was a girl, so they don't care," Lloyd said.

Denver police can't confirm if the attacks are Knockout Game cases, but they are investigating.

"By geographic and the type of assaults they were, we feel like we potentially might have had a pattern that evening of individuals going around assaulting people, so we're concerned," Sonny Jackson with Denver police said.

Police haven't named any suspects.

Lloyd is hopeful his attackers won't do it again.

"It's not a game at all. It could've been you or your kid or your sister or your brother, because I know there's no discrepancy for them," he said.

The police report gives a very vague description of the suspects. Only that it was a group of African-American men. Police are hoping to hear from anyone who might know something about the assaults.