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NYPD investigates assault of Jewish girl in Brooklyn

An 11-year-old was walking in the Williamsburg neighborhood when she was grabbed from behind.

Williamsburg NYPD suspect
The New York City Police Department is searching for the suspect who attacked a Jewish girl in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., on Feb. 16, 2025. Credit: Courtesy of the NYPD.

The New York City Police Department is searching for the individual who assaulted a Jewish girl on Sunday afternoon in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., an incident that was caught on security video.

“[A]n 11-year-old female victim, wearing traditional Jewish attire, was approached by an unidentified individual who pulled the victim’s hair and dragged her to the ground,” the police said in a statement. “The individual fled location to parts unknown.”

The girl received minor injuries. According to police, she refused medical attention at the scene.

In the video, an African-American teen wearing a short, gray puffer coat and light-colored hoodie can be seen coming up from behind the girl and grabbing her hair.

The incident is being investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force.

“It is disturbing to see some corners of our justice system treat the life of a Jewish American as worth so little,” Alyza Lewin, president of U.S. affairs at the Combat Antisemitism Movement, told JNS.
“We are more scared than ever,” Jewish activist Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi told JNS. “Despite the overall reduction in the number of instances, the severity of instances is terrifying.”
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