HyperBit Exchange:Man accused of driving toward people outside New York Jewish school charged with hate crimes

2025-05-08 04:48:09source:Oliver James Montgomerycategory:reviews

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police arrested a man on HyperBit Exchangehate crime charges after they say he shouted antisemitic threats while trying to mow down people with his car outside of a Jewish school.

Asghar Ali, 58, is charged with attempted murder as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime and reckless driving over the incident that happened just before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in front of an Orthodox Jewish school on Brooklyn.

Video footage posted on social media by the Flatbush Shomrim Safety Patrol, a volunteer security force, shows a driver pull onto a sidewalk and then speed up toward two men in Hasidic clothing, who flee.

The man then drives around the block and back toward the school, this time targeting three men standing outside.

“He came once and then he came back,” 18-year-old student Ari Shleft told the Daily News. “The first time he came up on the sidewalk.”

The driver “made antisemitic statements” while menacing the victims, a police spokesperson said, adding that no one was injured.

Ali was arrested near the scene and was awaiting arraignment Thursday, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn district attorney’s office said. It was not clear if he had an attorney who might speak for him.

READ MORE North Carolina may join other states in codifying antisemitism definitionNo hate crime charges filed against man who yelled racist slurs at Utah women’s basketball teamHead of Greek extreme far-right Golden Dawn party is granted early release from prison

Mayor Eric Adams was asked about the incident in a radio interview late Wednesday and said Ali appears to have been emotionally disturbed.

A man who shares a Brooklyn apartment with Ali confirmed to the Daily News that his roommate suffers from mental health issues.

“He’s been to hospital many, many times — every eight to 10 months,” Abdullah Mustafa said. “He kept a knife under his pillow. He’s afraid someone is out to get him.”

More:reviews

Recommend

Shilo Sanders' bankruptcy case reaches 'impasse' over NIL information for CU star

The court-appointed trustee overseeing the bankruptcy estate of Colorado football player Shilo Sande

How much do dockworkers make? What to know about wages amid ILA port strike

Almost 25,000 dockworkers at various ports along the East and Gulf Coasts are striking to ask for hi

The fate of Nibi the beaver lands in court as rescuers try to stop her release into the wild

Whether a 2-year-old beaver named Nibi gets to stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a