New York man arrested after allegedly attempting to run down students, rabbi near Brooklyn school with car
58-year-old suspect faces several charges, including attempted murder and hate crimes
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A New York man is in police custody after a manhunt when he fled the scene where he allegedly tried to run down several Jewish students and a rabbi with a vehicle outside a Brooklyn school on Wednesday morning.
Just before 11:30 a.m., the New York Police Department (NYPD) responded to an incident on Glenwood Road within the 63rd Precinct.
Police said a 58-year-old man, identified as Asghar Ali, was driving a white 2011 Ford Crown Victoria onto the sidewalk in an attempt to injure pedestrians.
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Sources told Yeshiva World News that Boro Park Shomrim received urgent calls that a white sedan had twice attempted to hit Yeshiva Bochurim and a rabbi outside the Vien Yeshiva in Canarsie neighborhood.
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Surveillance video shows Ali attempting to run over Bochurim, but fails to do so.
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The video then shows Ali driving around the block and returning to the Yeshiva and is seen in the footage driving up the curb and onto school property.
Police said there were no injuries, and that Ali was taken into custody shortly after locating him.
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He was booked into jail and is facing several charges, including the following:
- 1 count of Attempted Murder as a Hate Crime in the 2nd Degree
- 1 count of Attempted Assault as a Hate Crime With Intent to Cause Serious Physical Injury
- 1 count of Attempted Assault in the 3rd Degree With Intent to Cause Serious Physical Injury
- 1 count of Attempted Assault as a Hate Crime With Intent to Cause Physical Injury
- 1 count of Attempted Vehicular Assault in the 1st Degree (1 Count)
- 1 count of Attempted Assault in the 3rd Degree With Intent to Cause Physical Injury
- 1 count of Menacing as a Hate Crime in the 3rd Degree (1 Count)
- 1 count of Menacing in the 3rd Degree (1 Count)
- Reckless Driving
- 4 counts of Reckless Endangerment as a Hate Crime in the 2nd Degree
- 4 counts of Reckless Endangerment in the 2nd Degree
- 5 counts of Aggravated Harassment in the 2nd Degree
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force told Fox News Digital it is aware of the incident and that the investigation is being led by the NYPD.
2 ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY PLOTTING KNIFE ATTACK AT GERMAN SYNAGOGUE
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This latest incident comes as college campuses across the country face mounting protests surrounding the Israel-Hamas war and growing reports of harassment and antisemitism towards students.
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Earlier this month, the U.S. House also passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which aims to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses and would expand the legal definition of antisemitism used to enforce anti-discrimination laws.
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Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.