A hardworking immigrant died after being punched in the face on a Brooklyn street by a stranger he was arguing with for being disrespectful to the victim’s wife, according to cops and the victim’s heartbroken family.
Kemal Karakatal had just arrived home from work and gotten out of his car when he got into a clash near Pitkin and Van Siclen Aves. in East New York about 8:20 p.m. Thursday, cops said.
Karakatal, 52, worked as a chef on Staten Island. When he got home Thursday, he learned a man had just cursed out his wife while she was walking her dog. That led to Karakatal stepping in and getting into an argument before the pair came to blows, the victim’s stepson and cops said.
“He said, ‘You shouldn’t talk to a woman like that,” the victim’s 31-year-old stepson, who declined to give his name, told the Daily News. “My stepfather’s not a violent man. It’s not his character. He don’t like to fight or argue.”
The stranger punched Karakatal in the face, sending him reeling back onto the concrete sidewalk.
“I’m shocked to see my stepfather laying on the ground. I saw him fighting for his life,” the stepson said. “Somebody just assaulted him.”
Medics rushed Karakatal to Brookdale University Hospital, where he died. His death is being investigated as a homicide, cops said.
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News
Kemal Karakatal was fatally punched near Pitkin and Van Siclen Aves. in East New York about 8:20 p.m. Thursday, cops said. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
The puncher, who was wearing a white shirt and shorts, white socks and black crocs, stormed off and has not been caught.
The victim’s wife attempted to film the attacker as she chased after him, following him for numerous blocks with her dog, but was unable to catch up to him.
“She was scared, too,” the stepson said. “She wanted him to get caught.”
Karakatal lived in NYCHA’s Florentino Plaza, about a half block from where he was punched.
He was from Turkey and was married to his wife for four years.
“He loved to cook. He was in the kitchen all the time,” the stepson said. “He was always happy to see us. Always helpful. He loved his step-grandkids. He gave a lot of love.”
Courtesy of family
Kemal Karakatal, 52. (Courtesy of family)
Cops were searching for surveillance footage that can help them track the assailant’s movements after the attack.
The killing comes as the NYPD announced a 9% drop in crime in the city’s public housing. Through the end of June, cops investigated 2,659 crimes on NYCHA properties, 246 fewer crimes than in the first six months of 2025.
“I’m just upset at this point,” Karakatal’s stepson said. “The way he died, he didn’t deserve that.”