New York police say they have located a man suspected in the stabbing of multiple people in a rabbi’s home during a Hanukkah party in the small Rockland County town of Monsey late on Saturday night.
Authorities said late on Saturday that police in the 32nd precinct of the NYPD have spotted a man driving a car that fit the description of a vehicle given by witnesses who say he fled the scene of the crime on Forshay Road in Monsey.
The man and his vehicle were reportedly located at West 144th Street and 7th Avenue in the Harlem section of Manhattan.
Hours earlier, video circulated on Twitter showed emergency vehicles and ambulances hurriedly evacuating victims from a home on Forshay Road in Monsey.
That home is believed to be next to a house of worship. It belongs to Rabbi Chaim Leibush Rottenberg.
Rottenberg is the leader of Congregation Netzach Yisrael-Kosson. Locals say that about 300 people pray every Saturday at his congregation.
One local report is claiming that an African American man armed with a machete stabbed at least five people after entering the home.
Reports indicate that Rottenberg was leading a candlelighting ceremony for the seventh night of Hanukkah when the assailant barged into the house.
Two of the victims are said to be in critical condition.
Video circulating on Twitter shows emergency vehicles and ambulances hurriedly evacuating victims from a home on Forshey Road in Monsey, New York, a small hamlet in Rockland County just north of New York City
A first responder evacuates a stabbing victim outside a synagogue in Monsey, New York, late Saturday evening
A massive presence of emergency vehicles is seen on Forshay Road in Monsey on Saturday
One of the victims was stabbed in the chest, according to the web site VINnews.
The assailant is then reported to have fled the scene in a vehicle. One of the witnesses is believed to have reported the vehicle’s license plate to police, who are now searching for the suspect.
Police tape and investigators are seen in front of the home on Forshay Road in Monsey late on Saturday night
Investigators are seen outside the home of Rabbi Chaim Leibush Rottenberg in Monsey, New York, on Saturday
A massive emergency response is seen outside of the home on Forshay Road in Monsey late Saturday
The image above shows Rabbi Chaim Leibush Rottenberg (sitting). Rottenberg is the leader of Congregation Netzach Yisrael-Kosson. This photo is said to have been taken moments before the attack on Saturday
One internet report claims that the suspect is in a Gray Nissan Sentra with license plate HPT5757.
The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council for the Hudson Valley region said on Twitter: ‘At 9:50 this eve, a call came in about a mass stabbing at 47 Forshay Road in Monsey (Rockland County; 30 miles North of NYC).
‘It’s the house of a Hasidic Rabbi. 5 patients with stab wounds, all Hasidic, were transported to local hospitals.’
In a second tweet, the OJPAC added: ‘2 of the victims of the attack were taken into hospital as critical.
Amateur video shot by a witness in Harlem shows New York Police Department officers taking into custody a man believed to be connected to the stabbings of multiple people at the home of a rabbi in Monsey, New York, on Saturday night
‘The perp’s face was partially covered with a scarf but skin showed him to be an African American.’
Monsey, a small hamlet located in Rockland County, is home to a large Orthodox Jewish community.
Last month, an Orthodox Jewish man was stabbed as he was walking toward a synagogue, according to The New York Times.
An estimated one-third of the 320,000 residents of Rockland County are Jewish, according to census figures.
Rockland County is the county with the highest concentration of Jews in the United States.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted: ‘I am horrified by the stabbing of multiple people at a synagogue in Rockland County tonight.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted: ‘I am horrified by the stabbing of multiple people at a synagogue in Rockland County tonight’
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted: ‘Horrific. So many Jewish families in our city have close ties to Monsey’
House Rep. Eric Swalwell tweeted: ‘My heart is with the Jewish community in Monsey, New York, tonight’
Chaim Deutsch, a New York City councilmember, tweeted: ‘Can Jews walk down the street without being attacked? Can Jews shop for groceries without being attacked?’
‘We have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism in NY and we will hold the attacker accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
‘NY stands with the Jewish community.’
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted: ‘Horrific. So many Jewish families in our city have close ties to Monsey.
‘We cannot overstate the fear people are feeling right now.
‘I’ve spoken to longtime friends who, for the first time in their lives, are fearful to show outward signs of their Jewish faith.
‘We will NOT allow this to become the new normal. We’ll use every tool we have to stop these attacks once and for all.
‘The NYPD has deployed a visible and growing presence around Jewish houses of worship on the streets in communities like Williamsburg, Crown Heights and Boro Park.’
New York State Attorney General Letitia James tweeted: ‘I am deeply disturbed by the situation unfolding in Monsey, New York, tonight.
‘There is zero tolerance for acts of hate of any kind and we will continue to monitor this horrific situation.
‘I stand with the Jewish community tonight and every night.’
House Rep. Eric Swalwell tweeted: ‘My heart is with the Jewish community in Monsey, New York, tonight.
‘The reports of a hateful mass stabbing during Hanukkah are devastating & incredibly troubling.
‘We must do more to fight against anti-Semitism in America & I stand in solidarity with the victims & their families.’
Chaim Deutsch, a New York City councilmember, tweeted: ‘Can Jews walk down the street without being attacked? Can Jews shop for groceries without being attacked?
‘Can Jews pray without being attacked? Can Jews ride the subway without being attacked?
‘No – we can’t. We are sick of words. We need concrete action!!!’
The New York area has seen a frightening uptick of anti-Semitic incidents in recent days.
New York City’s Jewish community is reeling from a spate of recent attacks believed to be motivated by anti-Semitism as de Blasio announced beefed-up police forces in affected communities.
Around the city, police have gotten at least six seven reports this week of incidents possibly propelled by anti-Jewish bias.
Besides making officers more visible in Borough Park, Crown Heights and Williamsburg, police will boost visits to houses of worship and some other places, the mayor tweeted.
‘Anti-Semitism is an attack on the values of our city – and we will confront it head-on,’ de Blasio, the Democrat, wrote.
At around 12:40am on Friday, a Brooklyn woman screamed ‘F*** you, Jews!’ and then slapped three other women in the face and head after encountering them on a Crown Heights corner, police said.
There has been a frightening uptick in anti-Semitic attacks in the New York area this past week. Surveillance footage filmed at around 5pm on Tuesday shows a 56-year-old Jewish man (circled) walking down Union Street in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn
Police released this image taken from surveillance cameras showing a man investigators believe is connected to the attack
The victims, who range in age from 22 to 31, suffered minor pain, police said.
Tiffany Harris, 30, was arrested on a hate-crime harassment charge.
Also on Friday morning, an unidentified man wearing a hoodie walked into the headquarters of the ultra-Orthodox Lubavitch movement on Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights and stated he was going to shoot up the place, according to WABC-TV.
The man then walked away, in the direction of the Utica Avenue subway station.
The Lubavitch movement is one of the largest sects of Hassidic Judiasm. Also known as Chabad, it has made Brooklyn the center of its activities since the leaders of the movement were forced to flee Europe at the start of the Second World War.
At around 3:20pm on Thursday, a Brooklyn woman walking out of a Dunkin’ Donuts with her three-year-old son in Gravesend was attacked by a homeless woman who hit her in the head with her bag, according to police.
‘You f—— Jew! Your end is coming!’ the suspect, Ayana Logan, 42, is alleged to have said to the victim.
The victim immediately dialed 911.
A nearby Good Samaritan who witnessed the incident followed the attacker, leading to her arrest, police told WNBC-TV.
A media report on Friday indicates that a man threatened to shoot up the headquarters of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Lubavitch movement on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn (seen in the above undated file photo)
The witness, Sean Lennon, said he heard screaming and saw the assailant flee the scene.
‘When the woman got the child ripped out of her arms and thrown to the floor I ran over and got between the two and made sure the woman was OK,’ Lennon said.
Lennon and a friend then followed the attacker until she was placed in handcuffs by police.
Logan has been charged with assault as a hate crime, acting in a manner injurious to a child under the age of 17, criminal possession of a weapon, and harassment.
On Wednesday morning, a Jewish man wearing a skullcap while walking in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn was punched in an unprovoked attack near 13th Avenue and 48th Street at around 1am, according to WPIX-TV.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Twitter announced that there would be a stepped up police presence in Borough Park, Crown Heights, and Williamsburg in Brooklyn
No arrests were made in the attack.
On Tuesday, two separate suspected anti-Semitic incidents took place in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn.
A 25-year-old man was accosted by several people on Kingston Avenue who made anti-Semitic statements.
‘F*** you, Jew!’ one of the people yelled in his direction.
The victim was then doused with a Slurpee drink.
‘Anti-Semitism is an attack on the values of our city – and we will confront it head-on,’ the Democrat wrote
At around 5pm, a 56-year-old Jewish man walking down Union Street in Crown Heights was punched in the back of the head by one person who appeared to be part of a group.
Others are seen in the area taking out their cell phones and recording the incident. Surveillance video also shows them laughing and cheering as the attack took place.
On Monday, a Miami man was charged with hate-crime assault after police said he made an anti-Semitic remark and attacked a man in midtown Manhattan.
The 65-year-old victim was punched and kicked, suffering cuts, police said.
He had been wearing a yarmulke, according to former state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who has founded a group dedicated to combating anti-Semitism.
Steven Jorge, 28, is being held without bail, and a judge ordered a psychiatric exam for him, court records show.
A message was left Friday for Jorge’s lawyer.
Governor Andrew Cuomo told a state hate crimes task force to help police investigate the attack, calling it ‘a horrific and cowardly act of anti-Semitism.’
‘It’s even more despicable that it occurred over the holidays,’ the Democratic governor said in a statement Wednesday. Hanukkah began on Sunday.
The New York Police Department’s Hate Crime Task Force is also investigating three other episodes that may have been motivated by anti-Semitism:
A man reported that a group of teenagers converged on his six-year-old son and another boy, 7, and hit them from behind in a Williamsburg apartment building lobby Monday night.
The attackers fled.
On December 10, six people died, including two gunmen, a police officer, and three bystanders inside a kosher supermarket in Jersey City.
The four-hour gun battle at the Jewish JC Kosher Supermarket erupted after the pair shot the police officer at a nearby cemetery and then fled in a white van.
It ended after police crashed an armored vehicle through the wall of the market.
It was later learned that the two gunmen were members of the Black Hebrew Israelites movement, a fringe group known for its anti-Semitic strain of street preaching.
‘It seems like it’s open season on Jews in New York City,’ said New York City Councilmember Chaim Deutsch.