Chicago police say person of interest in custody for DePaul University Jewish student attacks
Chicago police say they have a person of interest in custody in regards to two Jewish DePaul University students who were attacked on campus last year.
The two students were "visibly" showing support for Israel on Nov. 6 in front of the student center on the Lincoln Park campus when masked attackers punched them.
Police said the attackers made antisemitic remarks before attacking the students.
Chicago police confirmed Wednesday that a person of interest is in custody and being questioned about the incident. Charges have not been filed, and CPD did not say if charges were pending.
CPD classified the incident as a hate crime.
Max Long and Michael Kaminsky filed a lawsuit against DePaul, accusing the school of failing to protect them from the hate crime. The lawsuit claims a public safety officer was stationed just 10 feet away from them at the time of the attack, but did not intervene.
Long, a reservist in the Israel Defense Forces, was leading a campus discussion about the war between Israel and Hamas at the time, when two masked men began beating him, causing a concussion, according to the lawsuit. Kaminsky, a founding member of the DePaul chapter of Students Standing with Israel, stepped in to help Long, and suffered an injury to his wrist that required surgery.
The lawsuit claims Long had complained to the university about being harassed and threatened at prior campus discussions about the war between Israel and Hamas. The lawsuit also notes that a pro-Palestinian encampment that had been set up for more than two weeks in May 2024 led to more than 1,000 total complaints, including 34 reports of antisemitism, four credible threats of violence, and at least one death threat.
Please note: The above video is from a previous, related report.
