Group Hurls Racist Slurs At Newark Man In Montclair: Police

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Another incident involving racial slurs has been reported in Montclair, authorities said.

According to the Montclair Police Department, a 35-year-old Newark resident said that a group of five people – three of them juveniles – confronted him on Church Street around 9:30 p.m. on March 13.

The victim, who is white, said his assailants, who are black, questioned why he was in the area. They assaulted him while calling him racial slurs, then ran away from the scene south on Trinity Place, police stated.

The victim denied medical attention at the scene, police said.

The March 13 assault is the latest in a recent spate of bias-related incidents seen in Montclair.

According to the Montclair Police Department, a victim said he was verbally harassed on two separate occasions last month.

The victim said the first incident took place in early February as he was walking in the area of Glenridge Avenue, when the occupants of a four-door silver Buick yelled slurs about his sexual identity, police said. The three occupants of the car were described as white males, possibly in their teens, police said.

The victim said another incident took place on Feb. 18 on Bloomfield Avenue, when three black males – possibly in their mid-twenties – yelled similar slurs at him, police said.

• See related article: More Swastikas, Bigoted Slurs Reported In Montclair

In January, a 33-year-old Jersey City resident said she was walking on Bloomfield Avenue when a man told her to "Go back to China," made a slur regarding her heritage and spat in her direction.

In February, a Harrison resident was charged with harassment by communication, harassment by spitting and bias intimidation after police responded to Gates Avenue on a report of a man yelling racial slurs and spitting on a 47-year-old, African-American woman from Newark.

• See related article: 2 Women Spat At, Endure Racial Slurs In Montclair

Earlier this month, an employee at Montclair High School reported that they discovered two swastikas and an anti-Semitic phrase carved into a chair, police said.

Montclair has recently seen other incidents with possible anti-Semitic roots, including the destruction of a large menorah made of ice on Church Street meant to kick off the Hanukkah holiday last December.

• See related article: Montclair Mayor: 'Hate, Anti-Semitism Have No Place Here'

Also in December 2019, a teacher at an unspecified school on Chestnut Street reported finding drawings of swastikas on a desk, Montclair police said.

In November 2019, an employee at Montclair High School said two swastika symbols were written in pencil on a table in the cafeteria, police stated.

Keep updated with local public safety alerts at the Patch Montclair Facebook page. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com