Blogger and live streamer Ricky Yaneza was playing Pokemon GO in Central Park when he got mugged during his live stream. His attempt to capture the Seaking was unsuccessful, and just after he made a decision to give up, an unidentified assailant ran up and punched Yaneza in the face. The assailant punches Yaneza, takes the 3 visible phones comprising his livestream setup and runs north. “I have a bump on my head and a scratch on my elbow”. With the help of these two individuals, Yaneza was able to contact the police and make it the hospital to have his injuries treated.
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The mugger wore some sort of headgear, either a mounted camera or headlight.
In a message posted to Twitter later in the evening, he described his jaw as “a mess”. The police confirmed Yaneza’s visit. “He was probably stalking the area knowing people were there playing Pokémon [GO]”.
The man behind the attack hasn’t been apprehended by police just yet, but this incident is a strong reminder of the importance of taking care and being aware when playing mixed-reality games like Pokémon Go. Following the event, Twitch suspended Rickeybot’s account for 24-hours. It’s unclear if this suspension is directly related to the footage of Yaneza being mugged, however.
The video of the mugging has gone viral on Reddit.
“I might as well get something out of this”, he told me.
It’s sad playing Pokemon GO can be so risky.
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Let this be incident serve as a lesson for you trainers: even though all the action takes place on screen, there is still plenty going on around you.
