Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP / Getty Images
A 36-year-old New Jersey man was arrested Wednesday night after repeatedly ramming his car into the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood, an incident police are investigating as a possible hate crime.
The crash occurred around 8:45 p.m. on January 29 at the iconic Jewish center located on Eastern Parkway near Kingston Avenue. Police officers who were already patrolling the area witnessed the driver strike the building approximately four times with his Honda Accord.
Video footage shows the car driving into a basement-level door of the building, then backing up and repeatedly slamming into it again. After the crashes, the driver, who was wearing shorts despite the winter weather, exited the vehicle and reportedly claimed to bystanders that "It slipped" and made comments about trying to park.
Officers quickly took the man into custody. Authorities say the suspect, from Carteret, New Jersey, is currently being treated as an emotionally disturbed person. According to Jewish community leaders, the man had visited synagogues in both New York and New Jersey in recent months, asking questions about converting to Judaism.
"This is deeply alarming, especially given the deep meaning and the history of the institution to so many in New York and around the world," said New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who called the crash "intentional."
As a precaution, the NYPD Bomb Squad conducted a full sweep of the car but found no weapons or explosives. The NYPD has "significantly increased" its presence around houses of worship throughout the city following the incident.
The crash happened during a significant date for the Chabad community – the 75th anniversary of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson becoming the leader of the Lubavitch movement. Thousands of visitors were at the historic building, which is often referred to as "770" for its Eastern Parkway address.
Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement, is the largest and fastest growing Jewish organization in the world, with 3,500 institutions in 100 countries and territories. The headquarters in Crown Heights is deeply revered by adherents and has inspired dozens of replicas across the world.
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is leading the investigation, though officials say it is still too early to determine the driver's motive, mental state, or whether the act was intentional. No charges have been filed yet, and fortunately, no injuries were reported.
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