Search Continues For Teen Suspects Who Vandalized Brooklyn Deli
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and other elected and interfaith religious leaders gathered Tuesday to denounce a recent attack by a group of teens who ransacked a Crown Heights deli and butcher shop.
Brooklyn Deli Gourmet Butcher owner Yanki Klein told CBS 2's Diane Macedo that he and his family are still fearful after the teenagers stormed into the store on Troy Avenue and Carroll Street around 9 p.m. Saturday.
The entire incident was caught on surveillance video. In it, the teens are seen running through the store, knocking down food and shelves.
"They screamed, they yelled, they made noise, whatever," Klein's sister, Riva Hamburger, said. "It was very scary."
Klein's sister said their mother was watching the whole thing from Klein's home computer.
"She was really scared," she said. "She was shocked. She was panicked."
What the surveillance video doesn't show is Klein's 23-year-old brother standing in the doorway when he was assaulted as the teens stormed in, Klein said.
"One of the guys that ran towards him, he punched him in his face," Klein said.
"He came home very scared, very hurt," Hamburger said.
"It's not a joke," Klein told CBS 2's Diane Macedo. "You can't just let it go."
The teens finally ran away after a customer grabbed a broom to fight them off. Klein believes they may have targeted him because he's Jewish.
"It is scary. It is something to be worried about," he said. "We've been hearing from people that they have also the fear."
Police confirm there were no other reported complaints in the area that night for assault or vandalism, but they say the attack is not classified as a hate crime. They are still searching for the suspects.
Officials at Tuesday's news conference said the incident is just the latest in a recent string of attacks on members of the Jewish community. Last week, Leonard Petlakh, head of the Brooklyn Young Men's Hebrew Association, said he was beaten in front of his kids after a basketball game outside Barclays Center by a member of a group carrying a Palestinian flag. Petlakh suffered a broken nose and black eye, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
"The individual who hit Leonard has been identified," Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, D-Brooklyn, said Tuesday. "We know who he is. We know his name. We know his wherabouts. And he has not been picked up for questioning by the police. That's my concern."
Police told CBS 2 the victim's attacker is on the loose.
Petlakh said he wants his children and the community to see that he refuses to run and hide, CBS 2's Dave Carlin reported.
"It's a message for all of us not to be afraid and stand together," Petlakh said.
More than 95 hate crimes have been reported in Brooklyn since January -- a 30 percent increase from last year.
Adams called it shameful.
"Are we going back to the days where Crown Heights is divided?" the borough president said. "And I say no to that.
"We will not go backwards. The sun has already set on the environment of hatred."
Community leaders said the display of shoulder-to-shoulder solidarity must be repeated to help root out mob rule and hate whenever it bubbles up.
"We have no tolerance for intolerance," said Rabbi Michael Miller of the Jewish Community Relations Council.
"We are going to stand together from all the faiths," added Mohammad Razvi of the Council of Peoples Organization.
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