NYPD charge 2 in connection with three attacks on Jewish men in Williamsburg

NYPD detectives arrested two suspects, one just 14 years old, in connection with three recent hate crime attacks against Jewish men in Williamsburg, including two victims on their way to synagogue, officials said late Monday.

The attacks in question occurred separately on Aug. 21 and Aug. 22 and led to intense investigations by the NYPD hate crimes unit with the assistance of the local Shomrin neighborhood patrol, as well as tips from the community, according to police.

The 14-year-old boy, who was not identified because he is a juvenile, allegedly was walking with a group of "unidentified individuals" and attacked two Jewish men, one age 72 and the other 66, separately, as they walked to their houses of worship to pray on August 21. He was arrested Monday and charged with assault as a hate crime, assault, and aggravated harassment.

Both victims were sprayed with a fire extinguisher, said police, and the 66-year-old victim was also punched.

In the Aug. 22 incident, a suspect identified as Carrington Maddox, 31, of no fixed address, allegedly punched a 27 year-old man dressed in traditional Hasidic garb, said Deputy Inspector Andrew Arias, head of the NYPD hate crimes unit.

Maddox, arrested last week, is being charged with assault and other offenses as a hate crime, said Arias, adding that Maddox, who lived in the city shelter system, has no criminal record in New York but does have prior arrests in Nevada and Florida. No information about his arraignment or attorney was available Monday night.

NYPD commissioner Keechant Sewell announced the arrests along with other NYPD brass and Jewish community leaders during a news conference in Williamsburg.

The attacks come just weeks before the Jewish High Holidays celebrations, as well as the start of school and according to Jewish community leaders has triggered an increase in anxiety among residents.

“We are terrified, we are distressed, these people can be beaten just going to synagogue, these kids will be afraid just walking out to school,” said Rabbi Sam Stern, a community leader and chair of the United Jewish Advisory Council who also spoke the news conference.

According to Arias, the hate crimes unit has seen an increase 103% in arrests so far this year compared to 2021. Arrests involving crimes against Jewish people were up 45% in the same period, added Arias.