A man is in custody after he repeatedly rammed his car into a Brooklyn synagogue Wednesday night, January 28. Shocking video circulating on social media shows the Honda Sedan with New Jersey plates backing up and plowing into a side entrance of Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters at least four times during a holy celebration. The event attracts thousands of congregants from around the world to the Crown Heights area.
The NYPD is now investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, ABC 7 reported. Officers ordered the driver out of the vehicle and arrested him, but he has not been charged yet. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has said that the incident is being investigated by the Hate Crimes Task Force as a hate crime.
The bomb squad unit responded to the scene and cleared the car. However, no explosives were found and no injuries reported.
What we know so far
The suspect has been identified as a man who once sought “guidance” from Jewish leaders, the New York Post reported. He claimed that the incident with his car happened after his “it slipped.”
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Police responded to the Eastern Parkway building for a “motor vehicle collision” at about 8:45 pm and found that the car had crashed into the doors of a sloped driveway at the synagogue. A video shows the driver stepping out of the car and telling a Jewish man, “I dunno, it slipped! It slipped, you f–king a–hole!”
Yaacov Behrman, the Chabad’s spokesperson, told the New York Post that the synagogue was packed with worshippers celebrating Yud Shevat, a holy day that marks the 75th anniversary of the current rebbe’s leadership. “There are thousands of students here and tens of thousands of visitors in the neighborhood. It’s a very, very important day on the Chabad calendar and the synagogue was very full at the time,” he said.
Behrman said that he believes the incident was “intentional” with “biased motivation.” “This is a very serious incident – it’s very frightening. We know how dangerous it is to be Jewish today worldwide. We’re concerned about what this person intended to do, and we’re waiting for assurances from the police department that the area is safe,” he added.
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The synagogue was evacuated after the crash, with Tisch saying that the NYPD will “significantly increase” security around houses of worship throughout all five boroughs. She added that New Yorkers can expect to see an “enhanced uniformed presence” of specialized controls, counterterrorism resources, and bomb squad deployments around religious institutions wherever needed.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani responded to the incident, saying in an X post, “I am at 770 Chabad World Headquarters in Crown Heights, where a man intentionally, and repeatedly, crashed his car into the building. I am relieved that no one was injured in this horrifying incident. This is deeply alarming, especially given the deep meaning and history of the institution to so many in New York and around the world. Any threat to a Jewish institution or place of worship must be taken seriously. Antisemitism has no place in our city, and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable.”
He added, “I stand in solidarity with the Crown Heights Jewish community, and I am grateful to our first responders for taking swift action. I will keep New Yorkers updated as we learn more about the incident.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James has said that her office will also work with the NYPD to investigate the incident. “I know this community very closely and deeply. They are part of my family, and I am blessed, and this community is blessed that no one was injured,” James told reporters. “This was a holiday, a Chabad holiday, and there were thousands of individuals who came to 770 Eastern Parkway headquarters from all over the world.”
Brooklyn synagogue attack: Man repeatedly slams car into Chabad World Headquarters; shocking video emerges
