A woman, who was previously caught vandalizing posters of Israeli children hostages in Gaza, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly attacking two New York City Police Department officers and trying to steal one of their guns, the New York Post reported.
Dana Baraket, 19, of Queens, N.Y., was hit with a litany of charges, including robbery, assault on an officer, criminal possession of a weapon and unlawfully possessing or selling noxious material and harassment, according to an NYPD incident report.
At about 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, two officers were approached by an individual, later identified as Baraket, “who pepper-sprayed them in the eyes and face.” The incident took place in Manhattan’s Midtown South Precinct, which includes Times Square, the report stated.
Baraket allegedly attacked the officers without warning and then tried unsuccessfully to grab one of the officers’ guns from its holster while repeatedly yelling at them, “kill me,” the Post reported, citing anonymous sources.
Baraket was taken into custody at the scene, and emergency medical services took the two officers to local hospitals in stable condition. (JNS sought further comment from the NYPD.)
Weeks after Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Baraket and her sister, Aya, were filmed tearing down posters with images of Israeli children held hostage in Gaza from the window of a store on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. When confronted, Baraket yelled and directed an expletive at Israel, even as a mother with her child explained that the posters depict innocent civilians.
