A 21-year-old psychology student was arrested Friday for spitting at an eight-year-old a week ago and yelling at him and his two siblings that “Hitler should have killed you all.”
The suspect, Christina Darling, is a student at St. Francis College. She was charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime, acting in a manner injurious to a child and menacing, the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force tweeted.
⚠️ UPDATE in anti-Jewish Hate Crime involving 8YO child. Thanks to help from the public, HCTF Detectives, assisted by Bklyn South Warrants,
arrested:
Darling, Christina 21
BrooklynCharges:
Aggravated Harassment/Hate Crime
Act in Manner Injurious to Child<17 x3
Menacing/HC https://t.co/ZGC4AVvAwG pic.twitter.com/iKeAKuHi65— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes)
A video of the incident, which took place in front of 4017 Avenue P near Coleman Street in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn, was posted on social media by NYPD News.
In the footage, Darling is seen striding up to the children ages seven, two and eight, yelling at them before spitting at the eight-year-old and stalking away.
?WANTED for AGGRAVATED HARASSMENT: Do you know her? On 1/14/22 at approx. 12:35, in front of 4017 Avenue P in Brooklyn, the suspect approached an 8-year-old and two other children, made anti-Jewish statements, then spat on the them. Any info? DM , or call 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/MNG6kgcsBD
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews)
“Hitler should have killed you all. I’ll kill you and know where you live,” she told them, according to the NYPD.
The children’s father, Aryeh Fried, told CBS New York 2 that his children were out playing in the neighborhood when Darling attacked them. His son answered back that he would save his little sister.
“I have to teach him not to engage,” the elder Fried told the news outlet. “But he engaged. And she came running back. Spat in his face. And told him, ‘We will kill you all. I know where you live. And we’ll make sure to get you all, next time.’ Fried recounted.
“I would hope that she understands the severity of what she did,” Fried added. “To do it to anybody is obviously problematic, but for an adult to do it to a child is just beyond crazy.”
The children were not physically injured, although the incident obviously was traumatizing.
A petition was launched by “GM” on Change.org, urging St. Francis College to expel Darling, saying that on her TikTok account (@christinaelizabethx3) she “frequently boasts about smoking marijuana” and that she had posted her status as an “Education, English, and Psychology major, as well as an aspiring guidance counselor.”
The college has a strong policy against all forms of bullying, racism, antisemitism and acts of violence rooted in hatred and bigotry,” the petition noted.
In a letter posted to Twitter, college President Miguel Martinez-Saenz wrote in response to the incident, “St. Francis College is a caring community of students and employees from a broad range of backgrounds with differing beliefs. Our learning environment values radical hospitality and openness to all.”
That post was swiftly followed with an official statement from the President’s Cabinet, saying the college “is aware of the situation and shares in your outrage at the incident and allegations. . . We denounce this horrifying act of racism, bigotry, and harassment against the Jewish people.”
A statement from the President’s Cabinet – Condemning Anti-Semitism and Violence Against Jewish People. pic.twitter.com/5LG7hDkVkK
— St. Francis College (@SFCNY)
Former New York State Assemblyman and founder of Americans Against Antisemitism (AmericansAA) Dov Hikind, a native of Brooklyn, expressed amazement at Darling’s actions, along with relief that she was identified and arrested.
Christina Darling, Psych student at St Francis, was just arrested for spitting on and threatening Jewish children in Bklyn.
I’m glad she was found & charged with a crime but what in G-d’s name is going on in this country that an adult would target innocent kids with such hatred? pic.twitter.com/Ju2h5t8oFC
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov)
“I’m glad she was found & charged with a crime but what in G-d’s name is going on in this country that an adult would target innocent kids with such hatred?” Hikind said in his video statement.
“Where is this hatred coming from?” he said. “We need to address where this Jew-hatred is coming from!”