A 17-year-old has been arrested and charged after authorities say he targeted a 19-year-old Jewish man with a gel pellet gun in Teaneck, N.J.
Teaneck police responded around 6:10 pm on March 8 to a report that a man had been shot with a gel pellet gun near West Englewood Avenue. The victim, a local resident, told officers that he had been walking when a black sedan approached him, and its occupants asked whether he supported Israel or Palestine.
When the victim did not respond, someone inside the vehicle fired a gel pellet gun, striking him multiple times in the upper torso, per police.
Investigators said the car contained three males. The victim later saw the vehicle nearby, and the suspect allegedly fired additional pellets and shouted at the victim.
Using surveillance footage and license-plate reader technology, detectives identified the vehicle and located it at a residence, where a 17-year-old was taken into custody. Police recovered a gel pellet gun, a water gun and a container of gel pellets from the car.
The suspect faces charges “simple assault, conspiracy, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and multiple counts of bias intimidation,” according to local outlet News 12.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), whose district includes Teaneck, said that “an armed teen targeting Jewish residents in Teaneck isn’t just a bias incident. It’s part of the dangerous rise in antisemitic hate we’re seeing across our country.”
“Jewish families deserve to feel safe in their own communities,” he said. “We must confront antisemitism wherever it appears.”
The Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey thanked the Teaneck Police Department for its “swift response and investigation.”
“The incident is deeply concerning and continues the pattern of Jews being harassed and targeted simply for being Jewish,” the Federation stated.
Authorities have not released the suspect’s name since he is a minor.
