FOREST HILLS, Queens (WABC) — A 32-year-old man was arrested after a rabbi was attacked on Tuesday afternoon in Queens.
Police say the sufferer was punched in his chest and face at Queens Boulevard and 71st Avenue by a person who additionally hurled antisemitic feedback.
Rabbi David Shushan, who was on the best way to synagogue on the time, was not injured and was in a position to take an image of the suspect, who was rapidly arrested at a close-by subway station.
The 30-year-old rabbi, who can be a father of three, mentioned Wednesday that he’s grateful that his accidents weren’t extra critical following the violent, hate-filled assault.
He mentioned the assault began with a vile slur adopted by a punch to the chest.
“I simply mentioned, it can not occur like this, I have to combat again and I simply give him again,” Shushan mentioned. “And I discovered myself right into a combat I by no means, you understand, I am not a fighter. I am a rabbi right here. And I discovered myself rolling within the flooring within the snow, getting punched into the face.”
After his arrest, police say the suspect, Eric Zafra-Grosso, acted erratically whereas in custody and was held for a psych analysis.
Zafra-Grosso was arraigned Tuesday night time on expenses of assault as a hate crime, aggravated harassment as a hate crime and assault.
“We have to promote mild and I talked of goodness and kindness,” Shushan mentioned. “So, the darkness will likely be pushed away routinely.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a press release that mentioned partly, “I am horrified by the antisemitic assault on a rabbi in Forest Hills. On Worldwide Holocaust Remembrance Day, New Yorkers had been confronted with a painful reality: antisemitism just isn’t a factor of the previous. It’s a current hazard that calls for motion from all of us.”
Elected officers in Queens additionally issued a joint assertion condemning the assault:
“The rise in antisemitic incidents throughout our metropolis and nation is deeply regarding, and this assault – occurring on Holocaust Remembrance Day – underscores the pressing duty all of us share to confront hate earlier than it escalates into violence.”
Prosecutors requested $40,000 bail however the choose launched the suspect on supervised launch.
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