New York City police are asking for tips following an antisemitic attack on a 63-year-old man in Central Park last week, NBC News reported on Sunday.
The incident took place at about 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. A man hit the 63-year-old victim in the back of the head after having made antisemitic remarks, police said. He also said "Kanye 2024" in addition to the anti-Jewish sentiment, police confirmed Sunday.
The attacker fled on a bike on 72nd Street and was tracked as far south as Washington Square Park, police said. The assault occurred at the intersection of East Drive and Terrace Drive, a short walk east of the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, according to NBC News.
The 63-year-old victim chipped a tooth and broke his hand after he fell to the ground.
Police described the attacker as a man of medium build, in his 40s, with a light complexion. He wore beige pants and a brown jacket, and his bike was hauling items in a trailer that included a sign that said "Hungry Disabled."
Anyone with information is asked to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-8477.
The New York Police Department recently reported that, in November, it dealt with 45 anti-Jewish incidents, which comprised 60% of all hate crimes during the month.
This is a 125% increase in antisemitic incidents in New York compared to the same month in 2021.
Last week, a group of Jewish boys was chased by attackers firing a taser gun and shouting “Run Jews! Get out of here!” in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn.
The incident took place on Ave J and East 16 St., near the Flatbush Yeshiva and Touro College’s Lander College of Arts and Sciences.
The Shmira Jewish public safety group shared surveillance camera footage from the scene on Twitter. The footage shows a group of Jewish boys running down the street as a group of assailants runs after them shouting.
The incident in Flatbush took place days after a Jewish man was shot in the neck with a BB gun in the same neighborhood. That came after a similar assault against an Orthodox man and his seven-year-old son in Staten Island a day earlier.
In late November, a man armed with a machete walked through the Far Rockaway neighborhood in Queens, New York asking where the closest synagogue was.
The NYPD and the Shomrim group showed up at the scene. When the suspect went inside a building, the NYPD placed him in custody.