Two Assaulted Within Hours in South Orange

Two people were assaulted this weekend within one mile of each other and just a few hours apart, South Orange police said in a written report.

At 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, a Morristown resident was walking on Irvington Ave. near Prospect Street, just one block away from the South Orange police station, when he was approached by four young men and punched in the face for no apparent reason, police said.

The boy that punched him was described as dark skinned, 5-feet-8-inches with a thin build, and was wearing a brown jacket, black knit cap and dark colored gloves, which police believe had a hard object inside, according to the police report.

Another youth was described as wearing a red jacket, black knit cap, black jeans and glasses.

“The Detective Bureau is investigating the incident as a second assault of a Newark resident had also occurred on Irvington Ave. by the same group of individuals a short time before,” police said.

At 1:00 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17, just hours after the assault, a Seton Hall University student was walking on South Orange Ave. near Centre St., when two men punched him in the face and attempted to take his belongings.

The victim fought back and the two men fled on foot without any of his items, police said.

The two incidents seem to follow the trend of a game called “knockout” in which youths try to knock out passersby with one punch and steal their belongings.