Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Man stabbed in possible antisemitic hate crime in Crown Heights, NYPD says — suspect at large
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Dec 17, 2025
Modified Dec 17, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Brittany Kriegstein / Gothamist
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Dec 17, 2025
Modified Dec 17, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Police are looking for a man they say made antisemitic comments before stabbing another man in Brooklyn on Tuesday, and have deployed extra officers to help with the search.
NYPD officials said the stabbing stemmed from a “seemingly random” altercation between the 35-year-old victim and the other man around 4 p.m. near the corner of Kingston Avenue and Lincoln Place in Crown Heights. The fight turned physical, with the alleged assailant pulling out a knife and stabbing the 35-year-old in his chest, officials said.
Police said the victim was taken to a local hospital for his injuries and released. The NYPD said it has sent dozens of additional officers to Crown Heights and surrounding areas to look for the suspect.
Authorities said they’re investigating the incident as a possible hate crime and asking the public to help look for the suspect. Surveillance images released by police show him wearing blue jeans, white and black sneakers and a black jacket with the word “genuine” on the back.
Yaacov Behrman, a rabbi and spokesperson for the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters on Eastern Parkway, wrote on social media that the suspect allegedly said “‘F these Jews’” and “stated that it would be okay if the Holocaust happened today.” The victim is Jewish, Behrman added.
The rabbi told Gothamist on Wednesday he’s worried more serious attacks could follow “unless people openly call out hate.” He said Brooklyn’s Chabad-Lubavitch community is reeling from the mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach over the weekend, which killed more than a dozen people who had gathered at a Hanukkah event organized by the same movement there. Australian rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was killed in that attack, attended school in Crown Heights and still has family in New York, according to Behrman.
“Almost every family in Crown Heights knows somebody or is related to somebody who was either present at that attack, was injured or killed,” Behrman said. “This is absolutely just a wake up call for us that things are dangerous for Jews in New York and things are dangerous for Jews worldwide.”
Mayor Eric Adams, in a statement on X, condemned the incident as “evil, hateful antisemitic violence.”
“We cannot let this hate persist in our city, and we will never back down,” he said.
City officials had already increased police patrols near synagogues and menorah lightings in the wake of the mass shooting in Australia. Police asked anyone with information about the Crown Heights incident to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). They also asked people to submit tips on the Crime Stoppers website.
This story is based on preliminary information from police and has been updated with additional details.
Tagged
Crown Heights
brooklyn
new york city
public safety
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .