Masked attacker tries to snatch Jewish boy from father in Brooklyn

A harrowing incident unfolded on Saturday in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood when a masked assailant attempted to abduct a Chassidic child walking with his father.

Security camera footage captured the attempted kidnapping, which occurred around 3:30 p.m. near the intersection of Kingston Avenue and Lefferts Avenue.

The surveillance video shows the attacker lunging toward the child in an attempt to grab and drag him away, but the father pulled his son to safety and fended off the assailant. Shomrim, the local Jewish neighborhood watch organization, reported that through collaboration with the NYPD’s 71st Precinct, authorities identified and apprehended the suspect.

Last week, a 13-year-old Jewish boy from Crown Heights was assaulted as he rode his bike to school at about 8 a.m.

“Whatever the motivation was, whether it was hate or not, this was a case where a 40-year-old adult smacked a kid who looks like he is 10 years old,” the victim’s mother, who asked not to be named, told JNS. “It’s just completely inappropriate.”

The NYPD told JNS that it had a report on file for an alleged assault on Monday, when “a 13-year-old male was punched in the face by an individual in front of 655 Parkside Avenue causing pain and swelling.”
“The victim refused medical attention,” the NYPD stated. “There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing.”

The incidents come amid a wave of attacks targeting Jews in Brooklyn in recent weeks. In another recent case, a Jewish man sustained serious injuries in an antisemitic assault that police are investigating as a hate crime. The perpetrator, who wore a face covering, verbally assaulted the victim with antisemitic slurs before slashing his face with a knife at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Lafayette Street in downtown Brooklyn.

Originally published by Israel Hayom.