Ocean County Jewish Community Shaken After 3 Men Attacked

LAKEWOOD, NJ — In the wake of attacks Friday night that left three Orthodox Jewish men hospitalized, law enforcement is increasing patrols throughout Lakewood and in neighboring towns to try to quell the fears sparked by the spree.

One man was stabbed and two others were hit by a car in separate incidents that started with a carjacking Friday afternoon, authorities have said. Dion Marsh, 27, of Manchester, has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and three counts of bias intimidation in the attacks, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and Lakewood Police said in a joint news release.

Investigators have determined that Marsh was acting alone, the prosecutor's office said.

Lakewood Police Chief Gregory Meyer said the police department is working with New Jersey State Police and other law enforcement entities to try to reassure the community.

"We are looking out for potential copycats," Meyer said at a news conference Sunday in Lakewood that was attended by Rep. Chris Smith, state Sen. Robert Singer, and representatives of the Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey, the Simon Wiesental Center and other organizations.

Meyer said authorities are sensitive to the approaching religious holidays of Easter and Passover, and wanted to assure residents that they are being vigilant.

"We will be working around the clock," Meyer said.

While law enforcement is increasing patrols, others who spoke Sunday said what must be addressed is the underlying hatred that has been simmering for years, but has become more visible.

"This didn't happen in a silo," Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles said of the attacks, noting that social media has fueled hate-filled rhetoric.

Law enforcement has not released the details that prompted the bias intimidation charges against Marsh, and Lakewood Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith declined to elaborate Sunday, citing the ongoing investigation.

Staffordsmith also declined to provide details about what Marsh may have been doing between 1 p.m., when he is accused of carjacking a Toyota Camry at Martin Luther King Drive and Pine Street in Lakewood, and 6 p.m., when the first pedestrian was hit, citing the investigation.

"I don't feel comfortable answering this at this time," Staffordsmith said.

Singer, whose 30th District in the state Legislature includes Lakewood, said the attacks were particularly jarring for the Orthodox Jewish community because they happened on Shabbos, the Jewish Sabbath, when observant Jews do not use technology.

"They couldn't make calls to see find out what was happening," Singer said. "People went to bed scared."

"These were their neighbors who were attacked," he said.

Singer said he spoke to one family who witnessed one of the men being hit by the car, and was told the man was walking to a synagogue for evening prayers. He had been walking in the street but got up on the sidewalk as the car made a turn. The car then turned "and hopped on the sidewalk," hitting the victim before driving off.

The family Singer spoke with stayed with the victim until emergency services arrived.

"They are traumatized," he said.

Michael Cohen, regional director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which works to fight antisemitism, said the show of unity from law enforcement, government officials and organizations is important.

"We have to make sure everyone knows hate has no place here," Cohen said. "It has no place in Lakewood, in this region, in Ocean County."

"Antisemitic acts are not acceptable any time, anywhere," Coles, the Lakewood mayor, said. He rejected suggestions that any one group of people is responsible.

"This has to do with people and hatred that has festered for years," he said.

Smith said the community has to address the "rising tide of antisemitism " that has fueled rising numbers of bias attacks, especially against the Jewish community."

Smith noted a recent study that said 55 percent of all hate crimes across the United States in the last year have been directed against Judaism and those who are Jewish, while the Jewish community makes up a fraction of the population of the United States.

"There has to be zero tolerance for hate at any level," Smith said.