NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – The NYPD said it’s investigating a pair of potential hate crimes in Brooklyn on Wednesday night that appear to be motivated by the Israel-Hamas war.
In one incident, a group of men waving an Israeli flag allegedly attacked a Palestinian man on a Bay Ridge street. In the other, two teens are accused of firing imitation guns outside a synagogue in Gravesend.
The synagogue incident happened around 7:40 p.m. by Congregation B'nai Yosef on Ocean Parkway. Police said someone called 911 to report that a group of young men armed with guns were outside the synagogue.
Responding officers came across two juvenile males each armed with an “imitation firearm” that may have been a gel pellet gun, according to police.
Shmira Public Safety posted a video to X that they said shows one of the teen suspects armed with a BB gun.
No injuries were reported.
The NYPD said an investigation is ongoing and they’re treating the incident as a possible hate crime.
About four hours later in Bay Ridge, a group of men assaulted a man who had yelled pro-Palestinian comments at them around 11:30 p.m.
According to the NYPD, the 18-year-old victim, described by cops as Palestinian, and two other men, ages 21 and 19, were on 86th Street when a car drove down the street with several men inside.
The men in the car were waving an Israeli flag and yelling anti-Palestinian remarks, police said.
The men on the street yelled back at the men in the car, reportedly something to the effect of "free Palestine," so the men stopped the vehicle, got out and began punching and kicking the 18-year-old, according to police.
The victim declined further medical attention at the scene.
The three suspects took off in the car and were still being sought Thursday.
Like the first incident, police are treating the attack as a possible hate crime as the investigation continues.