Third Suspect Arrested Following Apparently Random Attack On Jewish Man In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A third man is under arrest Thursday in connection with a pair of Wednesday morning attacks on Jewish men in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
The 51-year-old victim was approached by three men around 1 a.m. on President Street.
No one spoke, but police say the men punched the victim in the face and body, leaving him with cuts and bruises.
#HappeningNow great response and #Collaboration by @NYPD71Pct and our Vol two under arrest for vicious assault. One outstanding Perp at this time #TeamWork pic.twitter.com/Jzfdq570WP
— CH Shomrim (@ShomrimCH) January 30, 2019
Minutes earlier, 22-year-old Mendel Super was attacked half a block away. Police believe the two assaults are linked.
Nazar Walters, 18, and Teshon Bannister, 21, were arrested Wednesday and face assault and hate crime charges.
Joshua Peters, 20, was arrested Thursday and also faces robbery and assault as a hate crime charges.
In New York, hate crimes have doubled over the past year. Of those, eight anti-Semitic hate crimes took place in the first three weeks of 2018 compared to 15 this year.
Several, including the most recent one, happened in Crown Heights. Another unprovoked attack took place on January 16th on Kensington Avenue.
"I just really felt so helpless lying on the ground there," Super said. "Nothing that I could do. It was the scariest experience of my life."
Super says he was on the phone with his father when he was blindsided.
"I feel like as a country, we need to say that it's not okay," Curry said. "Understanding our history is an important part of doing that."