Video shows driver allegedly trying to strike pedestrians in Brooklyn. Suspect facing hate crime charges
NEW YORK — Borough Park, Brooklyn residents are on edge after a man allegedly tried to mow people down with his car during Yom Kippur on Friday.
The incident was caught on video and prompted stepped-up security for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot on Wednesday.
According to the Borough Park Shmira Public Safety Patrol, a 24-year-old man was walking back from praying around 10:30 p.m. Friday when he was almost run over by a driver in a red vehicle on New Utrecht Avenue and 50th Street.
"Very shaken up. Even his family is like, he's like, 'I saw my death in front'– like he jumped, and luckily he jumped," said Borough Park Shmira Public Safety Director Levi Leifer.
The NYPD says the driver, 31-year-old Muhammed Qasim, also threatened a 43-year-old that night. Video shows him going on a tirade as he sped through the neighborhood, shouting, "F*** you, Jews."
"He said kill all the effing Jews," Leifer said.
The patrol says Qasim even drove onto the sidewalk at one point, making the incident even more alarming.
"Interestingly enough, this individual returned, making circles in the area, which is freaky and just shows he wasn't really afraid of getting arrested or, God forbid, hurt," Leifer said.
Shmira Public Safety Patrol helps catch driver
Leifer says a volunteer on foot patrol was able get the vehicle plate number and call 911.
"We were safely following him at the time, not knowing the guy might be armed, might be crazy and everything, and we were communicating with the local police," Leifer said.
Police caught up with Qasim, who lives nearby, and arrested him.
The Brooklyn district attorney says he is charged with reckless endangerment as a hate crime, harassment and false personation. Because the charges are not bail eligible, he was released on his own recognizance.
The Shmira Patrol says they along, with the NYPD, have stepped up security as Jews will be primarily walking to and from prayer again Wednesday night as the holiday of Sukkot begins.