Masked man attempts to snatch Chasidic boy from his father in Crown Heights

A man is facing charges of attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child after CCTV cameras caught him trying to grab a Chasidic child who was walking with his father in Crown Heights, Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon.

According to video footage of the incident, a masked man passing a father and his two young children on Kingston Avenue in the largely Jewish neighbourhood of Crown Heights attempted to grab one of the children but was thwarted by the boy’s father.

According to Crown Heights Shomrim Patrol, the perpetrator was known to police for having allegedly been arrested 30 times. He now faces charges of attempted kidnapping in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child.

“At approximately 3:30pm, this deeply concerning incident took place in the heart of Crown Heights,” CH Shromrim Patrol wrote on social media following the incident. “Kudos to the father for his quick action.”

CH Shomrim Patrol added that the arrest was made thanks to the collaboration between patrol volunteers and police detectives from the NYPD’s 71st precinct.

Local Jewish leader Yaacov Behrman wrote on X that he spoke to the father, who said “his children are doing okay, everyone is fine, and he is grateful for the outpouring of love from around the world.”

Targeted attacks against members of the Jewish community in Crown Heights have been on the rise in recent months. Crown Heights is home to a significant portion of the New York Jewish community, with Hasidic Jews representing roughly 25 per cent of the neighbourhood’s population. Over 385 antisemitic hate crimes have been reported in the area since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, according to a review of the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) hate crimes data.

Last week, a 13-year-old Jewish boy was slapped on his way to school and, prior to that, a Chasidic man was slashed in the face with a blade in a near-fatal attack.