In NYC, 'Truly Shocking' Series of Attacks Over the Weekend

Video footage suggests same suspect carried out attacks against 4 Bronx synagogues
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 26, 2021 6:27 AM CDT
NYPD Seeks Rock-Throwing Vandal in Attack on Synagogues
Stock photo.   (Pexels/cottonbro)

Four New York City synagogues, all in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, were attacked over the weekend, pelted by rocks in what police say may have been hate crimes. NYPD Detective Francis Sammon tells CNN that the six attacks—two each against the Riverdale Jewish Center and Chabad Lubavitch, and one each against the Conservative Synagogue and Young Israel—took place Friday through Sunday under cover of darkness, and that no one was hurt. The New York Daily News reports that, according to surveillance footage, the same person, shown wearing a green camouflage jacket, appears to be behind all of the attacks.

Windows and doors were shattered or otherwise damaged during the attacks, and police say the suspect also broke windows in three parked cars near the Young Israel synagogue. NBC New York reports that, despite the incidents, congregants continued to show up for services on Sunday evening, with a boosted police presence spotted outside places of worship. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says the NYPD's Hate Crimes unit is investigating, condemning the attacks as "vile acts of anti-Semitism" in a Sunday tweet. "This brazen series of attacks on the Jewish community in #Riverdale over the past few nights is truly shocking," Scott Richman, director of the New York and New Jersey division of the Anti-Defamation League, added in his own post. Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS. (More synagogue stories.)

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