Williamsburg Hate Crime Suspect Arrested: Cops

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN -- Police say they have arrested the man responsible for punching a man in Hasidic clothing last Friday.

Enrique Gerena, 32, was charged with a hate crime and third-degree assault for the attack. Gerena had been captured on video punching a 33-year-old man wearing Hasidic clothing in the back of the head last week, knocking him to the ground.

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Police records show that Gerena lived on Willoughby Avenue, just a few blocks from where he assaulted the man on Throop Avenue.

The attack and others in the area had prompted outcry from local leaders about the increase of hate crimes in the neighborhood and the borough.

The Sunday before the assault by Gerena, a 9-year-old boy in Hasidic clothes had been walking home when a man punched him in the face on Throop Avenue near Walton Street.

Photo provided by NYPD.