On February 7 she had been walking around Soho, where her office was located.
I was completely focused on my phone, Sirmali recalls.
I was not aware of my surroundings, which was not good.
TikTok: @halleykate / @sirmaligizem / @mikaylatoninato
Suddenly, she felt it, out of nowhere.
It was more like a slap, she says.
Someone approached me when I was looking down and then just walked away.
It happened so fast.
I was just like, What?
Or is it like, I’m just dreaming?
I was so shocked.
Terrified, she froze.
She didnt look around for her assailant; she didnt shout.
And then I just kept walking to the office because I was scared, she says.
It was a traumatic experience, one that Sirmali says she has worked to try and move on from.
She even posted a video onTikTokabout it, writing, Is this part of NYC life?
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Her video got some sympathy, but then, suddenly this week, it exploded in views.
Commenters began telling her that she wasnt the only one.
Indeed, multiple women have been reporting via TikTok that they have been attacked in an eerily similar manner.
She went to urgent care and filed a police report.
The spokesperson said no arrests have been made and an investigation is ongoing.
Since Mcgookin posted her video, more and more accounts emerged on the app.
In response to Mcgookins video, one woman, named Mikayla, said a similar thing happened to her.
She was looking at her phone and then she was hit.
A woman named Olivia said she was punched on the street earlier in March.
And a woman named Jill said she was assaulted the week before Sirmali.
Sirmali says she hopes the increased attention may help in stopping this from happening to any others.
It changed my behavior for two months, she says.
I never looked at my phone when I was walking.
