Boro Park Shomrim Arrest Phony Water Inspectors

BOROUGH PARK, Brooklyn [CHI] – Five people were arrested Friday after knocking on doors and posing as Department of Environmental Protection water inspectors in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn. The group, which comprised of 3 males and 2 females, are suspected in a number of robberies in the area.

The arrests came after the Borough Park Division of Shomrim received a call to their hotline about the fake inspectors trying to enter the home of a resident, which prompted Shomrim members to follow the suspects for close to 5 hours, resulting in their arrest by the NYPD.

Attempted Mugging on President Street

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] — A young woman on her way to work this morning was accosted by a large Black male who tried to steal her phone. The incident took place at around 8:30am on President Street between Brooklyn and New York Avenues, where the perpetrator approached her, blocked her path and demanded her phone.

She immediately began calling for help and fled, the perp did not follow. The perp was described to be in his early 20’s and heavyset. Following the incident the woman called 911 to file a police report and after waiting for an extended period of time she left the scene without filing a police report.

Campus Sukkah Vandalized, Chabad House Calls for Jewish Pride

Police at the University of California at Davis are investigating the vandalism of a sukkah constructed by the off-campus Chabad House.

According to a report over the weekend in the school’s California Aggie newspaper, representatives of the university’s Student Programs and Activities Center reported discovering anti-Israel statements spray-painted on the interior of the sukkah. Photographs taken at the time show two messages: “End Israeli Occupation” took up a good portion of a blank wall; “Free Palestine!” appeared on a sign belonging to Chabad-Lubavitch of Davis and wishing passersby a “Happy Sukkot.”

Couple Assaulted and Mugged

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] – A second assault and mugging took place Sunday night at around 10:30pm, this time on Eastern Parkway between Washington Avenue and Classon Avenue. A couple taking an evening stroll were surrounded by gang of black teens and youths and attacked and mugged, the woman’s purse was taken as well as the mans cell phone.

Chabad Family Not Deterred in Face of Apparent Arson

After spending the last days of Sukkot in a neighboring town, Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries Rabbi Menachem and Moussia Teichman returned to their Uzhgorod, Ukraine, home only to find it gutted by fire.

Torah stolen from Jewish school in Cottage Grove

Cottage Grove, MN — The Sefer Torah at MyYeshiva, the Yeshiva High School of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, was stolen during Chol Hamoed Sukkos. Thieves apparently broke in to the yeshiva building through a window in the zal, the study hall, and made off with the yeshiva’s only Torah. The Torah was donated last year to the yeshiva by a friend and supporter in honor of the school’s opening.

“There’s a feeling of violation when your car is stolen, or when your purse is snatched,” said Rabbi Mottel Friedman, executive director of MyYeshiva, “The feeling of having our Torah stolen, our most precious inheritance, is the worst type of violation. Our very souls have been wounded.”

Man Assaulted with Metal Pipe, Rock Thrown Into Sukkah

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] — A relatively calm and peaceful Sukkos and Simchas Torah was marred by two serious acts of violence against the Jewish community. A Jewish man on his way home on Friday night was assaulted by a young black male, who was riding on a bike and swung a metal pipe at his head.

The incident took place on Crown Street between Kingston and Albany Avenues at around 1:30 AM, Hatzalah received the call for an assault and upon arriving on scene they began treating the victim, who was described to be in his late 30’s, for serious trauma to the back of his head.

He was apparently assaulted by the young perpetrator with a metal pipe, described a number of eye witnesses, the victim himself could not recount the attack since he lost consciousness immediately after the assault.

Swastikas Found Scrawled in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — Swastikas and hateful messages aimed at Jews were spray-painted on buildings and cars in more than a dozen locations in Brooklyn Heights on Monday night and yesterday, and fliers with savage epithets were found in three locations there, the police said.

There were no arrests yesterday, but more than 20 detectives were assigned to the case, as were dozens of officers in uniform and plainclothes, along with members of the department’s Hate Crime Task Force. A city truck equipped with tools and chemicals to remove graffiti was also dispatched.

Jewish Girl Accosted by Knife Wielding Black Youth

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] — A Jewish girl, 15, was accosted Thursday evening by a knife wielding black youth on Crown Street. The incident took place as the girl was walking home when the perpetrator approached her on the darkened sidewalk and pulled out a folding knife, upon seeing this she began screaming and called for help.

Lots of residents came pouring out of their houses and managed to apprehend the suspect just a half of a block away on the corner of Crown and Schenectady, where they surrounded him and waited for police, who arrived shortly thereafter.

More in the Extended Article.

Attacker Apprehended, Rabbi Doing Better

FRANKFURT, Germany [CHI] – On the second day of Rosh Hashana came the word of the arrest of the suspect, 22, who attacked Rabbi Zalman HaLevi Gurevitch, Shliach to the city of Frankfurt Germany.

Rabbi Gurevitch was attacked last week while walking home Friday night from the Westend-Synagogue with two Shabbos guests when he was attacked and stabbed while his assailant shouted racial slurs.

Shliach in Franfurt, Germany Stabbed in Apparent Hate Crime

FRANKFURT, Germany [CHI] — Chabad Shliach in Frankfurt, Germany Rabbi Schneur Zalman Gurevitch [42] is in stable condition after being stabbed just a few blocks from his home on Friday night.

The incident unfolded as Rabbi Gurevitch was walking home from the Westend-Synagogue in Frankfurt, a 20 minute walk from his home along with two Shabbos guests when a man shouted a racial slur at the Rabbi.

More in the Extended Article.

Girl Robbed in the Kingson Ave Subway Station

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] – Yesterday, Tuesday at around 3:30 PM a girl purchasing a MetroCard at a vending machine in the Kingston Avenue subway station was robbed by a pair of Black males.

The incident began when the girl took $20 out of her wallet to purchase a MetroCard while two Black males, around 16 years old, whom she originally spotted when first entering the station came up behind her and one distracted her by pointing at the screen and the other grabbed her purse.

More in the Extended Article!

Reveler Shot in Leg at Labor Day Parade

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — A reveler at the West Indian Day parade was shot twice in the leg, and three people were taken into custody for questioning, police said.

The 26-year-old man, who was not named, was taken to a hospital in stable condition after being shot at about 4 p.m. Monday, on Eastern Pkwy and Troy Ave,

In previous years, the event has been marred by tragedy. In 1999, two children died when they were pinned between floats, and hours later a man was run over by a float and killed. In 2005, a man was shot to death.

Last year, police had two reports of violence: a man shot in the leg and another person stabbed.