ARREST MADE After Chabad Bochur Stabbed in Manhattan, Suspect Charged With Two Hate Crime Assaults
by CrownHeights.info
The woman wanted in connection with the stabbing of a Chabad bochur in Midtown Manhattan earlier this week has been arrested, Manhattan Shomrim announced Saturday evening. The suspect is accused of carrying out two separate assaults being investigated as hate crimes on the same day.
The arrest follows an extensive search involving the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, Manhattan Shomrim, Crown Heights Shomrim and Queens Shomrim, along with members of the public who provided crucial tips to investigators.
“Thanks to the tireless dedication of our members working alongside the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, our partners at Crown Heights Shomrim and Queens Shomrim, and the crucial tips called in to our hotline by the public, the suspect wanted for Wednesday’s two hate crime assaults in Midtown Manhattan is now in custody,” Manhattan Shomrim said in an announcement.
The organization thanked everyone who assisted in locating the suspect and helping bring her into custody.
As previously reported by CrownHeights.info, the initial attack took place Wednesday evening in Manhattan’s Diamond District, near Fifth Avenue and West 47th Street. The victim, a 26-year-old Chabad rabbinical student from Crown Heights identified as Yosef, was walking through the area when a woman allegedly followed him and stabbed him from behind with a sharp object believed to have been a needle or syringe.
Hatzalah responded to the scene and transported the bochur to Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated and reported to be in stable condition.
Surveillance footage released following the attack showed the woman approaching the visibly Jewish victim from behind before striking him and fleeing. Witness accounts also indicated that the suspect had approached another visibly Jewish pedestrian before the stabbing, raising concerns that Jewish individuals were being deliberately targeted.
Despite the frightening experience, Yosef returned to the Diamond District the following day to continue his daily work helping Jewish merchants and workers put on tefillin and encouraging them to perform additional mitzvos.
The arrest marks a significant development in the investigation. Authorities have been investigating the incidents as potential hate crimes, although further details regarding the second assault, the suspect’s identity and any formal charges had not yet been publicly confirmed in the information available at the time of publication.
The investigation remains ongoing.
