Mario Licato, a 26-year-old art director from Brooklyn, was knocked unconscious by a stranger who said, 'This is because you look like Shia LaBeouf!'
- April 27, 2016
AceShowbiz -
Mario Licato, who bears an uncanny resemblance to troubled actor Shia LaBeouf, might have asked himself, "What did I do wrong?". The Brooklyn man was recently sucker punched by a stranger when he was on his way to a Manhattan concert because he looks too much like the "Fury" actor.
Police confirmed the incident happened on Saturday, April 23 when Licato was heading from Cobble Hill to the Pianos bar on Ludlow St. at about 8:30 P.M. He was walking up the stairs at the Essex and Delancey Sts, F train station when the attacker suddenly came at him.
"I didn't even see it coming. All I saw was fists. I fell down the stairs and woke up covered in blood with my glasses broken in half," Licato told The New York Post. "All I heard him say was, 'This is because you look like Shia LaBeouf!' And then he ran away."
Licato was briefly unconscious. A couple spotted the 5-foot-9 "fratboy-type" attacker as he bolted down the stairs and onto a train. The couple called 911 and helped Licato walk up the stairs. An EMS worker treated him there.
Police said the sucker punch was a misdemeanor assault.
Licato, who is a 26-year-old art director, has been told many times that he looks like the former "Transformers" actor. "I've gotten it so many times. I can see it," the Bushwick resident said. "Some of my friends say yes. Some of my friends say no."
Licato poked fun at the incident by posting on his Instagram account, "I wanna thank the guy who randomly decided he needed to hit me last night. 'This happened bc you look exactly like Shia labeouf'. Well sir you boosted my self esteem bc he's p hot."
The attack, however, has left him wondered, "What did Shia LaBeouf do to him that he punched somebody that looks like him? He must have did something so mean. Did he steal his girlfriend? Did he just see his last performance art piece?"
