Suspect in Brooklyn Chabad HQ ramming incident due in court. Why prosecutors say it was no accident.
The man accused of repeatedly ramming his car into Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn is due in court Friday.
Dan Sohail, 36, is set to be arraigned on hate crime charges. Sohail, of Carteret, faces charges of attempted assault, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and aggravated harassment, all as hate crimes.
Prosecutors are expected to lay out why they believe Wednesday night's incident was a deliberate attack, and not an accident as Sohail allegedly claimed.
Cell phone video obtained by CBS News New York shows a black sedan slamming into the front doors of Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights as hundreds were praying inside.
"It's a miracle no one was hurt," said Chabad member Yoseph Bankhalter. "You never know what someone's intentions are, so we need more security."
The NYPD said patrols are being increased at houses of worship citywide as a precaution.
Police say they have surveillance video showing Sohail parking his car blocks away, walking to the building, removing barricades and snow, and then getting back into his car and driving straight into the doors of the building. When he was arrested, Sohail told officers his foot slipped off the gas pedal, according to police.
"When he was removed from the car, he stated that his foot slipped and during the debriefing he stated he lost control of the car because he was wearing clunky boots," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
Sohail had previous encounters with Chabad in Brooklyn. Video verified by CBS News New York shows him in the building he allegedly attacked less than two weeks earlier, dancing and interacting with yeshiva students.
South Brunswick, N.J. police said they responded to a call of a disturbance outside a Chabad there last fall and encountered Sohail, who told responding officers he was homeless and wanted to convert, police said. He was referred to mental health counseling.
Sources told CBS News New York Sohail has a history of mental illness, as documented by his family.
