An attack on a Crown Heights kosher butcher over the weekend is being investigated as an assault, but Tuesday some called for the incident in which more than a dozen teens ransacked the store to be looked at as a possible hate crime.
A two-minute video of the Saturday night incident, which was posted on crownheights.info, shows a large swarm of teens running up to the Gourmet Butcher on Troy Avenue at about 9 p.m. Several of the kids ran inside and started to throw merchandise and boxes around, ransacking the place.
A man inside the store then ran to the back and returned with what appeared to be a cleaning tool for protection.
Police said a 23-year-old man was punched but refused medical attention. They are looking for a single man, about 18 years old.
Police confirmed they are investigating the incident as an assault, but said it has not been flagged as a possible hate crime.
The Anti-Defamation league, called the incident “a shocking hate crime” and said the store had just reopened after the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
“This outrageous attack on a Jewish business is a shocking hate crime that has left the Jewish community in Crown Heights deeply shaken and understandably angry and concerned for their safety,” ADL Regional Leader Evan Bernstein said in a statement. “Given the history in Crown Heights, it is imperative that city leaders out to make clear that this kind of brazen anti-Semitic attack is completely unacceptable in New York City and reassure the community that this kind of freewheeling violence cannot and will not happen again.”
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams denounced the attack Tuesday, adding it to a list of other recent attacks on the Jewish community, including an assault on the director of the Kings Bay Y outside the Barclays Center following an exhibition basketball game there.
“Hate is not a Brooklyn value,” Adams said in a statement. “We will combat bigotry with brotherhood and sensationalism with sisterhood.”
