A religious Jewish teenager was punched in the face on Friday night in a random, unprovoked antisemitic attack that took place in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.
Antisemitic hate crimes in New York City rose by almost 300 percent in January 2022 as compared to figures a year earlier, in January 2021, according to NYPD data.
The attacker got out of a van at the corner of Avenue L and East 32nd Street and punched the teen without warning.
The attack, which occurred at around 10:30 pm, was apparently being filmed by a second male seen by the victim.
A second teen was targeted shortly after the first incident in an attack on Nostrand Avenue and Kings Highway. The assailant failed to connect, however, and the teen managed to escape, later telling police that he, too, saw a male in the van filming the attack.
“Absolutely disgusting, disgraceful and cowardly acts of violence against Jewish New Yorkers,” the NYPD Shomrim Society wrote in a tweet.
“The Hate Crimes Task Force is actively investigating this incident,” NYPD said in a statement.
“Make no mistake, an attack on our Jewish community is an attack on every New Yorker,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a tweet following the incident. “We will catch the perpetrators of this assault. Please contact the NYPD with any information.”
NYPD is analyzing security camera footage from the area.
Anyone with information is asked to please call Flatbush Shomrim at 718-338-9797.
