The NYPD has opened a hate crime investigation into a Sunday incident in which a cyclist randomly punched a Jewish teenager in the head in Brooklyn, according to the New York Post.
The 18-year old was walking down the street in South Williamsburg at 1:40 a.m. when a man on a bicycle rode up behind his and slugged him in the back of the head, police said in a statement.
The punch was strong enough to knock the teen’s black hat and kippah onto the ground. After the attack, the assailant fled the scene.
Surveillance footage released by the NYPD showed him riding away down the sidewalk on his bike.
Investigators believe the teen was randomly targeted for being Jewish. The incident is still under investigation by the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force. No arrest has been made so far.