New York City police are investigating a possible hate crime after a 36-year-old man rammed his car into an internationally recognized headquarters of a traditionalist Jewish sect as people gathered for prayer on Jan. 28.
NYPD officers responded to the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood at about 8:46 p.m. local time, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a brief news conference. Officers already detailed to the synagogue had “heard a commotion” at the building’s main entrance, she added.
“When they responded, they observed a vehicle strike the rear door, reverse and strike the rear door again,” Tisch said. “Officers immediately ordered the driver out of the car, and they placed him under arrest.”
The NYPD Bomb Squad conducted a sweep of the vehicle and found no explosive devices, according to the police commissioner. No injuries were reported, and the incident is currently being investigated as a possible hate crime by the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force.
The driver has not been publicly identified as of Jan. 29. Tisch noted that information on the incident is preliminary and the investigation remains ongoing.
As a precaution, Tisch said the NYPD has “significantly increased security” around houses of worship across all five boroughs.
“Earlier tonight, a car crashed into a side entrance at Chabad HQ at 770 Eastern Parkway, the building encompasses one of the most important synagogues in the world,” Chabad Lubavitch spokesperson Motti Seligson said on social media, adding the driver was arrested “almost immediately.”
During the news conference, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was “relieved no one was injured in this horrifying incident.”
“This is deeply alarming, especially given the deep meaning and history of the institution to so many in New York and around the world,” Mamdani added. “Any threat to a Jewish institution or place of worship must be taken seriously. Antisemitism has no place in our city, and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable.”
The incident occurred as people gathered in the neighborhood to celebrate Yud Shevat, a Chabad holiday.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who previously served on the New York City Council and represented parts of the Crown Heights neighborhood, said the community was “blessed that no one was injured.”
“I know this community very closely and deeply. They are part of my family,” James said. “This was a holiday — a Chabad holiday — and there were thousands of individuals who came to 770 Eastern Parkway, the headquarters, all over the world.”
Hate crimes against Jewish communities have risen in recent years in the United States. Advocates have noted a rise in hate incidents against Jews and Muslims since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza after an October 2023 Hamas attack.
Video of the crash that was posted on social media showed a Honda sedan with New Jersey license plates driving forward and reversing several times on an icy driveway that leads into a side entrance of the facility.
The vehicle is seen in the video ramming into a set of wooden doors and damaging them. Bystanders can be heard yelling as the car moves forward and backward.
The driver, who is wearing a zip hoodie and shorts, exited the car and started walking up the driveway, the video shows. He then shouted to bystanders that “it slipped” before two officers approached him and handcuffed him behind his back.
“Baruch Hashem,” Yaacov Behrman, a spokesman for Chabad Lubavitch World Headquqarters, said in a social media post, meaning “Blessed be G-d” in Hebrew, “there are no injuries.”
The Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters is known for its Gothic revival structure and is commonly referred to as 770, the building’s street address. Chabad-Lubavitch is a movement within Orthodox, Hasidic Judaism.
The incident came just a day after city officials said a rabbi was attacked in Queens by a man who made antisemitic comments on Jan. 27, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“For the second day in a row, Jewish New Yorkers were the targets of antisemitic violence,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a social media post.
An NYPD spokesperson said the man was still in custody as charges are pending. An email to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office wasn’t immediately returned Jan. 29.
Contributing: Reuters