Ferndale Man Suffers Concussion, Broken Jaw in Suspected ‘Knockout Game’

Sunday night, Edward Ewing was walking home when he was approached by two men who punched him and fled the scene.

“I was just going home; next thing I know, I am sucker punched,” Ewing told WXYZ, Channel 7.

Ferndale Police Department Det. Brendan Moore said authorities think Ewing was assaulted by people who were playing the so-called “knockout game,” which has been making headlines around the country. The purpose of the game is to knock a stranger out with a single punch.

Nationally authorities are scratching their heads over whether the “knockout game” is a real issue or an urban myth surrounding random assaults that have always occurred, The New York Times reported last fall. They said they need more solid crime statistics before putting our general warnings to the public to take precautions.

In Ferndale, Ewing’s partner, Jeff Perdue, witnessed the attack. He said Ewing, who suffered a concussion and a broken jaw, could have been killed. But the suspects treated it as a joke.

“As soon as they did it they were laughing back to the car,” Perdue told WXYZ.

Both assailants were described as young, black males, and one of them was wearing a blue shirt. They jumped into a silver or gold car and fled the scene.

Ewing has some words for his attackers:

“My whole life is upside down,” he told WXYZ. “I can’t work. I’m uninsured. I’m in the hospital since Sunday, just so you can get a thrill from punching somebody in the face?”