A Hasidic Jewish man in his 50s was severely beaten during an attempted robbery in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood Wednesday evening.
The attack occurred around 7:20 p.m. as the man left a subway station near President Street and Utica Avenue and was approached by two masked Black teens.
The assailants, one wearing an orange bandana and the other a black one, demanded to know: “What type of phone do you have?” When the victim attempted to walk away, the attackers grabbed a wooden stick, demanding his phone. Before he could respond or flee, they repeatedly struck him with such force that the stick broke in two.
The victim managed to escape but was chased by the attackers, with one pursuing him on a scooter. Crown Heights Shomrim, a local volunteer security organization, later reviewed security footage to aid in identifying the suspects.
The victim, now hospitalized, is reported to be in severe pain. “The victim is in excruciating pain and is currently in the emergency room,” wrote community activist Yaacov Behrman on X.
This incident follows three other reported antisemitic attacks in Crown Heights over the past week. In separate incidents, one Jewish man was slashed in the face, another was violently pushed, and a third individual was harassed with antisemitic and anti-Israel slurs at a kosher café. Each of the incidents involved black attackers, according to local reports.
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