Brooklyn man arrested and charged following antisemitic attack during Hanukkah

Police on Monday arrested a Brooklyn man who allegedly sparked an antisemitic assault in the borough last week.

Authorities said 23-year-old Armani Charles of Gateway Drive in Spring Creek, was arrested within the confines of the 77th Precinct just before 7 p.m. on Dec. 22.

It is unclear whether Charles was arrested at home or at the precinct, but he is accused of making antisemitic remarks to a man and stabbing him in the chest.

According to law enforcement sources, Charles approached a 35-year-old man and the pair started arguing at around 4:10 p.m. on Dec. 16 at Kingston Avenue and Lincoln Place in Crown Heights.

When the suspect walked away, the victim followed. Shortly after, police said, the suspect rattled off the slurs before stabbing the man in the chest with a knife.

EMS brought the victim to NYC Health and Hospitals/Kings County in stable condition. The NYPD began investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Charles is charged with attempted assault/hate crime, assault/hate crime, aggravated harassment and menacing/hate crime.

The harrowing incident occurred just days after the NYPD ramped up security around synagogues and houses of worship following a targeted attack against a Jewish community in Sydney, Australia, that left at least 15 people dead and many more injured on Dec. 14 — the first night of Hanukkah.

Hate crimes against the Jewish community have increased in New York since the terror attacks in Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Meanwhile, the number of incidents investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force increased by 50%, last month, with 54 incidents compared to 36 during the same month last year, according to the latest police data .

Locally, hate crimes in the 77th Precinct, where Charles was arrested, dropped by 25% year to date compared to 2024.