Police: Jewish Man Punched, Hit With Piece Of Furniture In Brooklyn Hate Crime
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Jewish man is attacked in Brooklyn, and now the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.
The assault happened this week in Bed-Stuy and was caught on camera.
As CBS2's Aundrea Cline-Thomas reports, the surveillance video, shared by police, shows a man grabbing discarded furniture piled up on the sidewalk and slamming it on the ground before walking away with one of its broken pieces.
A 25-year-old Jewish man was steps behind when police say the suspect turned around and attacked.
"It's ridiculous and disrespectful and crazy and madness, all in sadness," one person said.
It happened Monday around 11:30 a.m. on Martin Luther King, Jr. Place in Bed-Stuy.
Video shows the victim backpedaling as the unidentified suspect charged. Police say he hit the 25-year-old in the chest and threw the furniture, striking him in the back. Authorities say the suspect yelled an anti-Jewish slur at the victim, who was wearing traditional garb.
Now the incident is being investigated by the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force.
"Hate crime. I guess everybody has to get involved on that to prevent a situation like that to happen again," one person said.
"That's wild. That's wicked. Like people are crazy out here. You got to watch your surroundings," said another.
Days later, residents say they didn't hear about the attack.
Police are still looking for the suspect, who at the time was wearing bright red pants with a white stripe on the side and a black shirt and a baseball cap.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has directed the state Hate Crimes Task Force to assist with the investigation.
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is now investigating. Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.