Masked man clashes with TV journalist

A WABC TV reporter covering an attempted rape on the Lower East Side ended up fighting off a stranger in a hockey mask in a bizarre clash caught on camera.

CeFaan Kim was wrapping up a live report on Delancey St. near Norfolk St. when the assailant in a hockey mask put an arm around Kim’s neck about 11 p.m. Friday.

“Put the camera on me!” the man said just as Kim finished his broadcast. “What’s up! What’s up!”

As Kim and the stranger struggled, the masked man pushed and shoved the reporter, knocking him to the ground.

Kim, a U.S. Army Reserve sergeant, got up and confronted the man — who had taken off his mask — but was separated from him by another WABC employee and a witness, the video shows.

“I didn’t attack you ... you attacked me!” the man said after Kim accused him of assault.

The assailant ran off after a brief stare down and has not been caught, cops said.

“Thank you to everyone who was concerned about my well being,” Kim wrote on Facebook Saturday.

“Thank you to my crew and the random stranger who kept us separated and calmed me down in the heat of the moment ... because I’m not gonna lie ... when someone puts their hands on you, it’s hard not to get amped up.”

Kim said he suffered “just a scrape and a bruise.”

He posted the video of the clash on his Twitter page Saturday morning.

“This is the man who attacked me last night during a live broadcast,” Kim said. “If anyone has seen him around please give the 7th precinct a call.”

Tipsters can also call CrimeStoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.