Police have launched a hate crime investigation after a automobile crashed into the New York Metropolis world headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch motion Wednesday evening.
There have been no accidents within the crash, which occurred round 8:46 p.m. on the constructing within the Crown Heights part of Brooklyn, police mentioned.
New York Metropolis Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch mentioned officers have been stationed on the constructing after they heard a commotion within the constructing’s essential entrance.
“Once they responded, they noticed a car strike the rear door, reverse and strike the rear door once more,” Tisch mentioned at a information convention Wednesday evening.
Officers instantly ordered the driving force out of the car and arrested him, she mentioned. His title was not instantly launched.
Chabad-Lubavitch is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic group. Its constructing in New York Metropolis attracts hundreds of holiday makers annually, together with worldwide college students and spiritual leaders, in response to The Related Press.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the incident and referred to as it “deeply alarming.”
“Antisemitism has no place in our metropolis, and violence or intimidation in opposition to Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable,” he mentioned.
The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey mentioned it was “deeply disturbed” by experiences of the incident and thanked regulation enforcement for his or her response.
“This constructing shouldn’t be solely a synagogue, but in addition the worldwide Chabad.org Headquarters and a beloved image of Judaism all over the world,” the group mentioned on social media.
The incident is being investigated as a hate crime by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Unit, Tisch mentioned.
The incident occurred on a serious Chabad vacation, Yud Shevat. It commemorates the management of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, who was the sixth Rebbe, or instructor, of the Lubavitch motion, and marks the anniversary of his loss of life in 1950.
Tisch mentioned that out of an abundance of warning police would enhance safety at homes of worship all through town.
The police bomb squad was referred to as and went over the car, and nothing was discovered, Tisch mentioned. She additionally mentioned she was unaware of any info that any weapons have been recovered.
“We’re nonetheless very early on this investigation,” she mentioned.
Chabad-Lubavitch is a motion that started 250 years in the past in Russia. It has 3,500 establishments worldwide in 100 international locations or different territories, it says on its web site.
