‘Do you want to die?’ – Assailant attacks group of Jewish men outside of Chabad – Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn, stabbing one.
By World Israel News Staff
One person was wounded in an apparent hate crime incident outside of the headquarters of the world’s largest Hasidic movement over the weekend.
The stabbing occurred in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn at approximately 2:00 a.m. Saturday, when the assailant confronted a group of Jewish men near 770 Eastern Parkway, the center of operations of the Chabad – Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
Apparently attempting to provoke the men as they passed by him on the street, the assailant shouting “Free Palestine,” as well as a series of antisemitic slurs.
The men ignored him, according to a report by COLLive, a news site catering to the Chabad community, and the suspect turned his attention to another group of passersby.
Harassing them and making death threats, the suspect attacked several young men, shouting “Do you want to die?”
Drawing a knife, the suspect stabbed one young man and attempted to stab another.
When the Jewish men confronted him, the assailant fled, prompting several of the men targeted to pursue the suspect, as others called to officers positioned in the area.
The suspect was apprehended following the chase and taken into police custody.
He has been identified as 22-year-old Vincent Sumpter.
Emergency first responders were dispatched to the scene to treat the wounded man and evacuate him to a local hospital.
The victim is in stable condition and “is expected to recover due to the location of the stabbing and the quick response of paramedics,” wrote Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a Chabad activist in a social media post.
“This is an extremely serious incident,” Berhman continued. “The victim could have been killed. This act of hateful violence highlights the dangerous impact of anti-Semitic incitement and hate propagated by some local politicians and leaders in New York and across the United States.”