Jewish Teen Shot With Gel Gun On NJ Street After Being Asked, 'Israel Or Palestine': Cops

TEANECK, NJ — A 17-year-old was arrested Sunday and charged in an incident in which three people in a car approached a Jewish teen wearing "religious garb," asked whether he supports Israel or Palestine, and shot him more than 10 times with a pellet gun, police said.

The suspect, who's not being identified because of his age, was charged with bias intimidation, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and other offenses, said Teaneck police on Monday.

Deputy Chief Seth Kriegel said that around 6:10 p.m. Sunday, police responded to West Englewood Avenue on a report that a man had been shot with an “Orbeez-style” gel pellet gun.

A 19-year-0ld Teaneck resident said that around 6 p.m., he was walking nearby when a black sedan pulled up to him. An occupant of the sedan asked whether he supported Israel or Palestine, the victim said.

The victim did not answer and kept walking. Then, one of the people in the car — which was occupied by three males — "said something in what the victim believed to be Arabic" and fired a gel pellet gun at the victim, striking him, police said.

The sedan left, but the victim tried to follow it to determine where it was going, he said.

He lost sight of it and briefly returned home, police said. But later, he was walking in the area where he'd been shot earlier, and saw the sedan on Jefferson Street.

The car again stopped, and someone inside yelled for the victim to come over, he said. He didn't respond, but started recording with his cell phone, he said.

Then, "a male leaning out of the open passenger-side window fired numerous gel pellets at him as the vehicle drove eastbound on Ogden Avenue, striking him approximately ten times in the upper torso," police said.

The victim told police he was not injured.

Police found small orange gel beads on the ground, they said.

The victim, who was wearing religious garb, told police he thought he was targeted due to his religious background.

Kriegel confirmed that the victim is Jewish.

Teaneck is known as one of the most Jewish communities in New Jersey, with a Jewish population of approximately 40 percent. But it's also known as a diverse community, having had a Muslim mayor in the recent past.

The incident took place about a block from a local synagogue.

License Plate Led To Capture

Part of the license plate was captured on the victim's video, police said, and police used Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras in the area to identify the sedan.

The ALPR images also captured someone holding what appeared to be a gel pellet gun from the window, police said.

Police headed to the home of the owner of the sedan, they said. Close to the same time, the sedan was found and stopped.

A 17-year-old male was driving the car, police said. He was arrested and his parents notified.

Police searched the car and found a gel pellet gun, a water gun, and a container filled with gel pellets, they said.

"These toy-style devices use a spring-loaded or battery powered electric mechanism to propel small water-absorbing gel beads through a barrel using compressed air," police said. "While often marketed as toys, these devices are capable of causing injury, particularly when fired at the face or exposed skin."

The teen was charged on a juvenile delinquency complaint with second- and fourth-degree bias intimidation, simple assault, conspiracy, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, police said.

Detectives are investigating to identify the other people involved, Kriegel said.

Anyone with information about this or another investigation is asked to contact the Teaneck Police Department at 201-837-2600 or Crime Stoppers. Tips can be made anonymously and confidentially on the group’s website at bergencrimestoppers.org or by calling 844-466-
6789, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for tips that lead to an arrest.

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