Driver tries to run over children outside New York Jewish school in possible hate crime attack

Metro

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by Joe Marino, Reuben Fenton, Desiania Andrews and Amanda Woods

A shocking anti-Semitic attack took place outside a Jewish school in Brooklyn on Wednesday when a madman tried to mow down Orthodox Jewish students and a rabbi while shouting “I'm going to kill all the Jews,” sources told The Washington Post.

Video footage provided by the Flatbush Shomrim Safety Patrol shows the crazed driver revving his engine and driving up onto the curb as he sped off toward Orthodox Jews crowded around a Canarsie yeshiva around 11:25 a.m.

Police and sources identified the suspect as Asghar Ali, a 58-year-old taxi driver and Pakistani immigrant with a history of mental illness.

The NYPD's Hate Crimes Unit is investigating the incident, and detectives interviewed the driver on Wednesday night.

The Brooklyn man faces more than 10 charges, including attempted murder, attempted assault and hate crimes.

Police do not believe the attack was terrorism-related, and as of Wednesday night there was no evidence the suspect had ties to online extremist groups, officials said.

According to NYPD and video footage, the man, driving a 2011 white Crown Victoria, was turning onto East 55th Street in front of Mesivta Nakhlas Yacov School when he suddenly swerved toward students dressed in Orthodox garb.

The gunman then circled the block, heading back towards the school, this time targeting two more students and the rabbi who were standing outside.

According to police, the driver became enraged and said, “I'm going to kill all the Jews.”

The footage shows the victims fled into the building, which also houses dormitories, before being attacked.

No one was injured in the attack, which authorities list as five victims: three 18-year-olds, a 41-year-old man and a 44-year-old man.

Rabbi Twersky, who works at the yeshiva, said the incident began when a driver tried to run over one of the boys at the corner of Glenwood Road and East 55th Street while he was using his cellphone.

The man then ran across the other side of East 56th Street and charged toward a group of 30 to 40 students standing outside, said Twerski, who declined to give his first name.

“I walk in and the boys are like, 'Do you see the camera? Do you see the camera?'” Twerski recalled in an interview. “I'm more scared of them. I'm more scared of them. Their adrenaline is going.”

Tire marks were still visible on the sidewalk near the yeshiva Wednesday night, and a police car was parked outside.

The driver initially fled but was quickly found by Shomrim Safety Patrol members, who converged on the neighborhood searching for the assailant.

Shomrim called NYPD officers, who responded after he stopped off at a nearby Dunkin' Donuts.

“We were able to recover video footage. We were able to get the license plate number of the perpetrator,” patrol executive coordinator Bob Moskovitz told The Washington Post. “It was obviously a very distinctive car, a Crown Vic, an older model. You don't see that often.”

“We heard from school officials that he was wandering the neighborhood, driving around in a car,” Moskovitz said, “and one of our members, on his daily patrol through the neighborhood, spotted the car.”

The driver was taken into custody and transported to Coney Island Hospital, sources said.

Police officials said the suspect is described as an “emotionally unstable” person of Pakistani origin who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years.

According to authorities and sources, the suspect has been arrested four times in the past, including once in 1998 on suspicion of impersonation after presenting false identification during a police stop and search.

He is a taxi driver by profession but does not hold a valid TLC license.

“We're very pleased that we were able to arrest this individual,” Moskovitz said. “We don't want this individual driving around town, especially with the climate of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic sentiment that's prevalent right now, so we're pleased that we were able to resolve this case. This has made the community a little nervous, and I think this will put everyone at ease a little bit.”