Moment Boardwalk Empire’s Michael Stuhlbarg sprints after homeless serial criminal who launched a rock into the back of his neck near Central Park
The moment Boardwalk Empire star Michael Stuhlbarg chased down a homeless man who had just attacked him on the street in New York was caught on camera.
Stuhlbarg, 55, was apparently approached at random by the attacker in an upscale neighborhood near Central Park on Sunday evening, police told DailyMail.com.
He was walking near 90th and East Drive on the Upper East Side around 7:45 p.m. when Xavier Israel, 27, threw a rock at his head, hitting him in the neck.
Stuhlbarg suffered “minor injuries” and he ran after Israel to the Russian consulate on East 91st Street, where officers stationed outside intercepted him.
The chase was caught on camera by a local business in dramatic surveillance footage obtained by DailyMail.com.
The chase was caught on camera by a local business in dramatic surveillance footage obtained by DailyMail.com
Stuhlbarg, 55, was apparently randomly approached by a homeless man on the Upper East Side on Sunday evening
The actor was walking near East 90th and East Drive around 7:45 p.m. when Xavier Israel, 27, hit him in the neck with a rock. (Image: Israeli booking photo last night)
The footage shows Israel wearing what appears to be ripped light blue jeans, a cropped T-shirt and a white shirt over his face and head as he stands on a street corner.
He walks back and forth on the sidewalk near a crosswalk, holding a small makeshift bag in his fist.
In a second clip you see Israel in the same outfit sprinting across the sidewalk under a scaffolding.
Seconds later, a man in a black top and pants runs down the road after him, and both are out of harm’s way within seconds.
The actor was offered medical attention at the scene, but he refused treatment, the NYPD said. Israel, who is homeless, was taken into custody and charged with assault.
Pictured: Israel runs to the Russian consulate where he was held on Sunday evening
Pictured: Stuhlbarg chases his attacker down the street after hitting him with a rock
He has previously been arrested for two violent assaults and a robbery in January 2022, police confirmed.
In one incident that month, he knocked a 59-year-old Good Samaritan to the ground and robbed him after the man tried to offer him a jacket in freezing temperatures.
Israel was also arrested for attacking another person who offered him help – this time a 49-year-old woman – and for allegedly beating up two 18-year-olds in Central Park.
The attacks all took place in the month of January 2022 and Israel has no further criminal record before or after this month, police told DailyMail.com.
Seconds later, a man in a black top and pants runs down the road after him, and both are out of harm’s way within seconds.
The actor was offered medical attention at the scene, but he refused treatment, the NYPD said. Israel, who is homeless, was taken into custody and charged with assault.
Pictured: Xavier Israel is booked for a previous attack in Manhattan in January 2022
Israel used a coronavirus mask to obscure his identity when he appeared in court for the January attacks
Pictured: Israel is charged in Manhattan Criminal Court with assault and robbery for hitting and beating a Good Samaritan who tried to give him a jacket in January 2022
Surveillance footage of Israel beating a man who offered him his jacket during freezing weather in January 2022
The first incident, in which Israel attacked the man who offered him a jacket, was captured on surveillance footage.
Video shows the victim trying to help Israel, who had been lying on the sidewalk at 476 5th Avenue on a particularly cold evening around 8 p.m.
The victim gently places a jacket he was wearing on Israel before the homeless man jumps up and pushes him to the ground.
Israel retrieved the man’s wallet from his back pants pocket as he lay on the ground before fleeing the scene.
The victim tries to get his wallet back before Israel punches him and throws him back to the ground.
When Israel was arrested shortly afterward at West 41st Street and 5th Avenue, officers found nearly $1,500 in cash stuffed down his pants.
Pictured: Hope Davis as Gina Baxter and Michael Stuhlbarg as Jimmy Baxter in your honor
Pictured: David Gordon Green (left) as Brad and Michael Stuhlbarg (right) as Jake in Bones And All
Pictured: Stuhlbarg poses for a portrait to promote the film ‘Shirley’ at the Music Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, January 26, 2020 in Park City, Utah
Stuhlbarg was attacked in the upscale neighborhood on the east side of New York’s Central Park
Israel’s latest victim, Stuhlbarg, was made famous by troubled college professor Larry Gopnik in the 2009 dark comedy A Serious Man.
The California-born actor has since played George Yeaman in Lincoln, Lew Wasserman in Hitchcock and Andy Hertzfeld in Steve Jobs.
He is perhaps best known for his role as Arnold Rothstein on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.
Stuhlbarg has been honored with several awards, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, along with nominations for two Primetime Emmys, a Tony Award and a Golden Globe.