A man has been charged with a hate crime after attacking Jewish men with cutting shears in New York City on Saturday, reported Times of Israel.
The attacker, 47-year-old Kareem Govan, faces a felony charge of second-degree assault as a hate crime, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office announced on Monday.
According to the NYPD, the suspect approached a group of men on Saturday afternoon during Shabbat, wielding metal cutting shears in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood.
He then threatened to stab the men and attacked a 47-year-old as he attempted to flee, causing him minor injuries, according to the NYPD.
The victim received treatment at the scene, police said.
Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a community organizer and Chabad spokesperson, posted a video of the attack to social media site X.
Govan was initially not charged with a hate crime. On Sunday, the NYPD announced he faced seven charges, including assault, menacing, and harassment.
However, by Monday, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office confirmed that the hate crime charge had been added as the most serious offense.
The incident was the latest in a spate of antisemitic incidents in New York, which has seen a dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
A recently released NYPD report found that antisemitic hate crimes in New York City rose seven percent from 2023 to 2024 and made up the majority of hate crimes committed in the city.
According to the report, of 641 hate crimes committed in 2024, 345 were committed against Jews, compared to 296 against all other groups combined. 55% of hate crimes were committed against Jews.