HATE CRIME

Man Attacked for Resembling Shia LaBeouf

Sucker-punched in the subway.

A New York man said he was sucker-punched and knocked unconscious Saturday in Manhattan—all for his alleged resemblance to eccentric actor Shia LaBeouf. Mario Licato says he was attacked and bloodied at the Delancey Street F-train stop. “I was walking up the stairs,” he said. “I didn’t even see the guy. I just see his fist coming towards me. It knocked me, and while I was falling down the stairs, all I hear was, ‘This is because you look exactly like Shia LaBeouf!’” Licato said he lost consciousness after he landed, and was covered in blood and his broken glasses. His attacker reportedly boarded a train and escaped, and police told Licato that surveillance video would likely be accessible from the incident. Licato said: “I was so confused... I got up and I was like, am I crazy or did I hear him say, ‘This is because you look like Shia LaBeouf?’ And [bystanders] were like, ‘Nope. That’s exactly what he said as he was running away from you.”