Caught On Camera: Man Ambushed, Attacked By Gang Of Suspects On Brooklyn Street
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A man was cornered and beaten in what police are calling a random attack on a Brooklyn street.
Surveillance video shows the disturbing incident on Warsoff Place between Flushing and Park Avenues in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Four men can be seen chasing the 24-year-old victim as he walked home around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Police said two of the suspects punched and kicked the Hasidic man and told him to "give me everything you've got." The victim threw his cellphone on the ground, so the men scooped it up and ran away.
Authorities said it's not being considered a hate crime because no anti-Semitic slurs were made. Instead, police are calling it a random attack and robbery.
Still, former New York state assemblyman Dov Hikind is demanding the city step up its enforcement after the recent outbreak of anti-Semitic attacks across the five boroughs.
An outspoken advocate for the Jewish community, Hikind is organizing a rally at City Hall Park on Sunday to call for an end to attacks against Jews.
"Another day, another brutal and vicious attack on a Hasidic Jew in Brooklyn. We don't need more empty talk from city and state "leaders". We need action! The NYPD should be stepping up patrols in all Jewish neighborhoods until this wave of violent antisemitism subsides," Hikind said in a statement late Tuesday night.
The Anti Defamation League said it will offer an up-to-$10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
"The video footage of this violent encounter is incredibly disturbing, and we are glad that the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is assisting in the investigation of this horrific crime," ADL NY/NJ Regional Director Evan R. Bernstein said in a statement Wednesday. "This incident comes at a time when visibly observant Jewish individuals are unable to walk the streets of Brooklyn without feeling fearful that they may be assaulted or attacked because of their religion or faith. This is completely unacceptable and contrary to everything we stand for as New Yorkers. The violence must stop now."
