Police in New York have launched an investigation to find the group of males who attacked and robbed a Jewish man who was walking down a Brooklyn street.
Surveillance footage has captured the moment the four male suspects approached the victim on Warsoff Place between Flushing and Park Avenue at around 9:30 p.m. on September 17.
In the video, the suspects can be seen creeping up behind a car while one of the men confronts the Hasidic Jewish man. A second male then appears in front of the car, resulting in the victim attempting to run away.
Two of the suspects then start hitting the man, while a third appears to pick an object off the ground and proceeds to chase after him with it when the victim attempts to flee.
The clip ends with all four suspects running in the opposite direction to which they chased the victim.
After video of the attack was posted online by the Williamsburg Shomrim patrol group, former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind demanded that the NYPD increase security in the wake of a rise of anti-Semitic attacks in New York.
"Another day, another brutal and vicious attack on a Hasidic Jew in Brooklyn," Hikind said in a statement, reports CBS New York. "We don't need more empty talk from city and state 'leaders.' We need action!
"The NYPD should be stepping up patrols in all Jewish neighborhoods until this wave of violent antisemitism subsides."
🚨Alert🚨Be on the the look out #bolo: The following 4 perps are wanted by the @nypd79pct detective squad for a Robbery and assault that occurred in the area of Warsoff Pl and Flushing Ave on September 17 2019 at 9:30pm if seen call 911 and #Shomrim @718-237-0202#CaughtOnCamera pic.twitter.com/Gq20piJ3mn
— Williamsburg Shomrim (@WspuShomrim) September 18, 2019
Despite the victim being visibly Jewish, police are not yet treating the attack and robbery as a suspected hate crime as the perpetrators did not yell out anti-Semitic slurs during the incident.
The attack occurred as Hikind is set to appear at a rally at City Hall Park to speak out against the anti-Semitism he says "continues to plague" New York.
According to NYPD statistics, there were 152 reports of anti-Semitic hate crimes in the city in 2019 as of September 1, a 63 percent increase compared to the 93 reported in the same period last year.
Speaking during the Labor Day parade on September 2, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said President Donald Trump needs to shoulder some of the blame for the rise of anti-Semitic attacks.
"It is part of this new national anger and anxiety and frustration where we are demonizing difference. I believe it's the tone set by the President, who has unleashed the dogs of hatred," Cuomo said.
"Has he been anti-Semitic? No. But once you demonize differences, once you release the cancer of hate, it is uncontrollable. And you demonize Muslims, and you demonize Mexicans, and you demonize the new immigrants and people who are different."
Uncommon Knowledge
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About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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