Anti-Semitic Threats Caught On Camera At Long Island Costco

A man in a Costco in Lawrence caught the anti-Semitic threats lobbed at him by a customer on camera, and claims the police officers who were called to the scene did nothing to help.

The video was posted by Avrumi Fri, who said he was shopping with his wife and son at the Costco in Lawrence on Sunday when the incident occurred. The video, which Facebook removed claiming it violated its community standards, showed a man harassing Fri, who was recording him, claiming the "Nazis wanna f***ing kill you."

Fri said the incident started in the men's room, when the man in the video walked out of a stall and allegedly said, "The Nazis will finish you off." Fri followed the man out of the bathroom and began to record, saying, "Say it to my face," which can be heard in the video.

The video contains very explicit language.

According to Fri, while the man in the video was ranting at him, no one nearby did or said anything.

Fri said he spoke to the manager of the store about what happened, and was advised by a friend to call the police, who said that the incident was a hate crime. Fri said he went to tell the manager he was calling the police, and the manager went to find the man to get his Costco membership number to cancel it.

When the man saw the manager approaching, Fri said he left the store. As he was leaving, Fri said the man told another Jewish customer, "I'm going out to get my gun and will come back to shoot you up." The manager followed the man to his car and wrote down his license plate number.

The police arrived, and Fri said he showed one of the officers the video and explained what happened. Fri claims the officer told him, "Once you followed him out of the bathroom, you became the aggressor." A second officer joined them and agreed, saying that Fri should have left the man alone and that the man was mentally ill.

The officers took down a report, Fri said, and said they would pass it on to a detective, who may take the case. Fri said that later that day, he received a call from a detective who took the case and apologized for the officers' statements.

"I strongly believe that the current political climate we live in has brought about the actions of the police today," Fri wrote on Facebook. "A Jew being verbally attacked does not fit the narrative that the current local government, both in Nassau County and NYC, want painted.

"In my humble opinion," he added, "the upper echelons and political figures may not be overtly saying it, but the message is being given that threats to Jews are not to be taken seriously."

The Nassau County Police Department confirmed that the incident is being investigated, but could not give any details.