Hate Crime Investigation Underway After Driver Rammed Brooklyn Synagogue: Police

NEW YORK — The case of a driver who repeatedly rammed a car into the doors of a synagogue on Wednesday night in Brooklyn is being investigated as a hate crime, according to police.

The incident occurred around 8:45 p.m. at the headquarters of Chabad Lubavitch in the 700 block of Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, police said. The car was captured on video striking the doors repeatedly and causing one to fall in completely, as shown in the video shared on X by Yaacov Behrman, who handles public relations for Chabad Lubavitch.

The driver was taken into custody and a bomb squad swept the car and found no explosives, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference streamed by the New York Police Department on Facebook. No one was injured, according to Tisch.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the incident “horrifying” and “deeply alarming.”

“Any threat to a Jewish institution or place of worship must be taken seriously,” he said at the news conference. “Antisemitism has no place in our city and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable.”

Attorney General Letitia James noted at the news conference that the incident occurred on a holiday for Chabad Lubavitch when thousands had visited the headquarters from all over the world.

In a social media post, the Anti-Defamation League New York/New Jersey said its organization was “deeply disturbed” by the incident and in touch with law enforcement and other local partners.

Police will have an increased security presence at places of worship across the city in the wake of the incident “out of an abundance of caution,” according to Tisch.