New York resident Mario Licato was trying to get to a show at a bar called Pianos the other night when suddenly, a total stranger walked up to him and punched him in the face as he was walking up the stairs of the train station.

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Mario told Gothamist:

I didn’t even see the guy. I just saw 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!’

I was so confused. I was even more confused because 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 [a nearby couple] were like, ‘Nope. That’s exactly what he said as he was running away from you.’

Mario was KO’d for a while and when he woke up his face was bloodied and his glasses were broken. A nearby couple who helped him, described the attacker as, “in his mid-20s, six-foot to six-foot-three, and muscular, like a frat boy.”

On whether he’s been told he looks like Shia LaBeouf before:

So many times. That’s why I knew I wasn’t that crazy. I got it three years ago. I’ve been stopped on the street before, at least 10 times in my life.

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Brutal stuff. There’s really nothing lower than punching a stranger in the face. You can really cause someone some damage if you punch them when they’re not expecting it. Mario was literally wearing glasses and walking up some stairs; he could have been seriously fucked up.

That being said, he DOES look a lot like Shia LaBeouf and when you look like Shia LaBeouf you need to have your wits about you. People just don’t like that guy. I reckon Mario should just live every day as though he’s going to get punched in the face because it’s clearly a real possibility when you look like one of the biggest tossers on the planet. Stay safe Mario.

For the time Shia LaBeouf himself slapped a uni student across the face, click HERE.