The New York Police Department (NYPD) is investigating a seemingly antisemitic assault that occurred in Flatbush, Brooklyn on Friday night when a visibly Jewish teenager and another passerby were assaulted out of nowhere.
The first incident happened at around 10:30 p.m. EST when an unidentified man got out of a van and punched the teenager in the face while someone else inside the van reportedly filmed the encounter, according to Yeshiva World News, citing the Flatbush Shomrim.
A second victim has since come forward as well and was able to escape, according to YNW.
The report was confirmed by the NYPD, with the Hate Crimes Task Force announcing that they were actively investigating the incident.
The Hate Crime Task Force is actively investigating this incident. https://t.co/tPiCJw3NEb pic.twitter.com/BHOV8SmxbZ
— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) February 13, 2022
This was further supported by New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
"Make no mistake," he said on Twitter, "an attack on our Jewish community is an attack on every New Yorker. We will catch the perpetrators of this assault."
@NYPDHateCrimes is investigating this attack, and make no mistake an attack on our Jewish community is an attack on every New Yorker. We will catch the perpetrators of this assault. Please contact the NYPD with any information. https://t.co/Z5eNveEOVW
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) February 13, 2022
The incident is one of several recent antisemitic incidents to occur in New York in 2022. According to NYPD data, antisemitic incidents in January 2022 saw a nearly 300% spike compared to January 2021.