The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the brutal robbery of a Jewish man in Brooklyn on Thursday night.
According to the investigation, the suspect approached the 40-year-old victim, who was dressed in traditional Jewish attire, and punched him in the face near 906 Eastern Parkway at around 7:30 p.m.
After the assault, the suspect hurled an anti-Jewish remark, before snatching the victim’s cell phone and running off into the nearby Kingston Avenue subway station.
Paramedics arrived at the scene of the robbery and took the victim to Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital for treatment in stable condition, cops said.
No arrests have yet been made, and the investigation remains ongoing.
The NYPD has classified the incident as a potential hate crime.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on Oct. 7, the Police Department has recorded a significant rise in hate crimes in the Big Apple, with Jews comprising the largest group of victims.
Throughout the month of November, the NYPD investigated 96 bias-motivated felonies in New York City, compared with just 72 in the same month of 2022. Of those incidents, 62 saw suspects targeting Jewish people.
Nationally, the FBI says they have recorded a 60 percent increase in hate crimes nationally in the wake of Hamas’ attacks in Israel on Oct. 7.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website, on Twitter @NYPDTips.
