A Chabad Hasidic man from Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood was stabbed in the back by a woman in Manhattan's Diamond District on Wednesday evening, in an attack being investigated by the New York Police Department as a possible antisemitic hate crime. The victim was hospitalized in stable condition.
The attack took place at approximately 5:30 p.m. between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. According to security camera footage and witness accounts, the suspect, a woman believed to be in her 30s, approached the man from behind and stabbed him with an object suspected to be a needle or syringe.
Security camera footage captures the attack on a Chabad Hasidic man in Manhattan
The footage shows the victim attempting to move away from the woman, but failing to avoid the attack. The suspect then fled west toward Sixth Avenue.
Sources familiar with the incident said the woman had walked past several other pedestrians without attacking them. The fact that the victim was wearing traditional Hasidic clothing, making his Jewish identity readily apparent, has raised suspicions that he may have been deliberately targeted because of his religion. However, investigators have not established a motive.
Volunteers from the Jewish emergency medical organization Hatzalah arrived at the scene and provided initial medical treatment. The victim was subsequently taken to Bellevue Hospital, where his condition was described as stable.
The moment of the stabbing
Police detectives and volunteers from Manhattan Shomrim, a Jewish community safety organization, were conducting searches for the suspect. The investigation is continuing with the involvement of the NYPD's hate crimes unit.
According to descriptions published by U.S. media outlets, the suspect is a white woman approximately 5 feet 9 inches (175 centimeters) tall. She was wearing a dark shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers, with a dark sweater tied around her waist.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the attack, including whether the victim was singled out because of his visibly Jewish appearance.