Horrific video shows two Orthodox Jewish children brutally beaten and kicked while riding their scooters on sidewalk, as NYPD investigates hate crime
- The boys, ages 11 and 13, were playing on the sidewalk in Williamsburg on Sunday
- Police have not identified a suspect in the possible hate crime
Two Orthodox Jewish children were brutally beaten by a man on a Brooklyn sidewalk in an attack captured on video.
The boys, ages 11 and 13, were reportedly playing on the sidewalk in Williamsburg Sunday evening when a man got off a Citi Bike and attacked them.
Gruesome video of the attack shows the adult man kicking and stomping one of the boys.
The attacker told the boys to “get off the sidewalk” before unleashing the attack, as reported by CBS News.
Officials said the boys were treated at the scene by paramedics and suffered minor lacerations to the back of their heads.
The boys, ages 11 and 13, were reportedly playing on the sidewalk in Williamsburg on Sunday
At one point the man is seen stomping on one of the boys. Both children were treated for lacerations
Police are still searching for the unidentified man and the attack is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
The suspect is described as between 18 and 20 years old and was last seen wearing a black jacket, black and white striped shirt, light blue jeans and white sneakers.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said of X: “This attack on a group of Orthodox Jewish children is disgusting.
“Anti-Semitism has no home in Brooklyn, and I am grateful that the Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating this attack. My office is monitoring the situation.”
It comes as Jewish and Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups have reported a major increase in intimidation, prejudice and physical attacks against their members in the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas.
In the first four months of this year, anti-Semitic crime in New York City increased by almost 50 percent.
According to data released by the New York Police Department, both New York City and New Jersey have become hotspots for anti-Semitic crime.
City officials have reported a 45 percent increase in hate crimes against Jewish people.
The suspect is described as between 18 and 20 years old and was last seen wearing a black jacket, black and white striped shirt, light blue jeans and white sneakers.
The attacker arrived at the scene on a Citi Bike in Williamsburg on Sunday evening
As of April 2024, 96 such hate incidents have been reported in the Big Apple — a sharp increase from the 66 reported during the same period last year, according to police department statistics.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban said Wednesday during a security briefing ahead of Passover: “The terrorist attacks on October 7 changed the public safety landscape, and we are still feeling the ripple effects of that terrible day.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the agency recorded 5,204 incidents between October 7 and the end of 2023 – more than the incident total for all of 2022.
The attack on the Hasidic boys comes days after a 16-year-old from East Flatbush in Soho was shot and killed by a suspect who fled on a Citi Bike.
Makhai Brown was leaving his high school in the wealthy area when he tried to break up an argument between two other people and one of them pulled out a gun and shot him in the head.