An 8-year-old Jewish girl was hospitalized with a fractured skull after being struck by a rock, which was thrown through a window on the bus she was aboard, on the New Jersey Turnpike in Teaneck on Wednesday afternoon.
The New Jersey State Police told JNS that it is seeking public assistance in its investigation of an aggravated assault, to which it responded at around 2:10 p.m. yesterday. The incident took place near exit 70A/B on the turnpike, it said.
“Based on a preliminary investigation, a rock was thrown at a school bus traveling northbound in the right lane,” it told JNS. “The rock shattered a side window and struck an 8-year-old student, causing serious injuries.” (JNS asked the state police if it is probing the incident as a potential hate crime.)
A spokesman for the school, Bergen County’s Yeshivat Noam, told JNS that “we do not yet know the motive behind the incident, and it would be premature to draw conclusions.”
“There were no visible markings on the bus identifying it as a Jewish school bus,” the spokesman said.
“The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority,” stated Rabbi Chaim Hagler, head of school at Yeshivat Noam. “Our focus remains on supporting the injured student and her family, as well as ensuring the emotional health of our entire student body.”
According to a letter that the 25-year-old, co-ed, Modern Orthodox day school in Paramus sent to parents on Thursday, the student “is alert and stable, but she will require surgery to ensure the injury heals properly.”
“I’m praying for the student and her family and hope she makes a full recovery from this terrifying incident,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) told JNS.
“I’m in close touch with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office as law enforcement continues their investigation,” the congressman added.
The rock was the size of a baseball, according to reporting in Yeshiva World News, which said that the surgery taking place at Hackensack University Medical Center.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office told JNS that it “is aware of an incident that occured yesterday on the N.J. Turnpike and is providing all necessary assistance to the New Jersey State Police.” It referred JNS to the state police. (JNS also sought comment from the FBI.)
The unnamed girl and her class at Yeshivat Noam—noam means “peace” in Hebrew—were reportedly returning from the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, an interactive museum which is popular for school trips.
Bergen County, in the northeast corner of the state, has the largest population of Modern Orthodox Jews of any county in N.J. Many live in towns including Teaneck, Englewood, Paramus and Bergenfield. Manhattan sits just across the Hudson River.
“No parent should have to worry about their child’s safety on a class trip. Our hearts are with the Yeshivat Noam student and family and with the classmates shaken by today’s incident,” stated Katie Katz, executive director of the New Jersey office of the Teach Coalition, an Orthodox Union program.
“Teach N.J. is standing with the school and working with public safety partners to support the community,” she said.
