Halloween Eve, Shooting and Egg Throwing

At around 10:00pm shots rang out on Montgomery St between Schenectady and Utica and one man was hit by a bullet, he immediately fled to 947 Montgomery St, a building in which he lived and called 911. Numerous Police Officers arrived on scene and began searching for the shooter, other officers began searching for spent shell casings and ended up finding one live bullet which apparently the shooter dropped while attempting to reload his gun.

The victim a Black male in his 20’s was very lucky, he sustained a graze wound to his left shoulder, EMS took care of him on scene then transported him to a local hospital.

There were numerous reports of egg throwing’s all around the neighborhood, one incident required Hatzalah be called. But B”H there were no major incident to report of.

More pictures in the Extended Article.

Kingston Shoplifter Strikes, Gets Caught

At around 4:45 PM today, Sunday, Shomrim received a call that a Black female just shoplifted from Bargain Center and she was being followed by the manager. Shomrim who had 2 members in the area already, immediately began their pursuit, caught her and held her for the police.

The police arrived on the scene within a few minutes and were very cooperative. After speaking to a couple of Shomrim members and the manager, they arrested her.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Murder Rate In NYC Slightly Up From Last Year

Murder in New York City is not as prevalent as it once was, especially when compared to the height of high crime 15 years ago, but recently, it seems that certain neighborhoods have reported more killings.

In 1990, there were more than 2,200 murders in New York. In 2006, the city is on pace for 540 murders, NewsChannel 4 reported. This year is the fifth straight year below 600, a rate so low that one would have to go back to the 1960s to match it. But some wonder if crime has gone as low as it can go in a city so large.

A man was charged with fatally stabbing a woman and beating two men to death on Monday in the Bronx. The crime brought the total for the 41st Precinct to 13 murders in 2006, up from six murders in 2005.

Brooklyn Residents Rally In Support Of Man Allegedly Assaulted By Police

Click Here for a newscast of this event (NY1)

Brooklyn residents rallied Thursday night to support a man they say was assaulted by police.

The James E. Davis Stop the Violence Foundation led the march to the 71st precinct. The foundation claims police went into the wrong Crown Heights house last week looking for drugs and guns.

They say police broke down the door and beat 23-year-old Patrick Lawrence.

Stolen Tefillin Recovered by Shomrim

Over the month of Tishrai Shomrim have received over 30 disturbing complaints of stolen Tefillin. Wednesday night a Shomrim member was approached by a not Frum Israeli guy and offered him a pair of Rabeinu Tam’s Tefillin for $380.

The Shomrim member told him he was interested and was led to where the guy stays and shown the Tefillin which still had the owners name on the velvet bag. Police were called and responded immediately and very soon after a Sergeant came to the scene to handle the situation. Police remained on scene for nearly an hour while Shomrim members located the owner of the Tefillin who was then brought on scene and filed an official complaint.

Mugging At Gunpoint on Midwood and Kingston

On Wednesday evening a group of three Israeli Bochurim who were staying with a Jewish family for the month of Tishrai on Midwood St (this is one of two Lubavitch families that lives down there) were held up at gunpoint and were mugged.

The group of Bochurim were making their way up Kingston when they were approached by two black males one of which produced a gun pointed it at the Bochurim and demanded their money. Between the three there was a total of $5 and they quickly turned it over, after which one of the two muggers said to the Bochurim that ‘its dangerous down here, you might get shot. Go home.’ 911 was immediately called and a number of cars responded instantly and quickly began canvassing the area for these perps with the victims, to no avail. They were then taken down to the precinct to fill out a police report.

Bias Incident on Carroll St., Police Apprehend the Suspect

At around 11:00pm a Jewish man residing on Carroll St between Schenectady and Utica was leaving his home to make his way towards Simchas Bais Hashuaiva had a glass bottle thrown at him followed by a racial expletive from a Black male. The victim who spotted an officer on a post at the corner of Schenectady and Carroll immediately made his way there and told the officer about the occurrence.

The officer beginning to investigate the incident was directed by the victim to an individual who he identified as his attacker. The officer made the arrest immediately and the victim is pressing charges, NYPD is charging the individual, who is in his 20s, with the commission of a hate crime. The entire incident from the occurrence to the arrest lasted less then 5 minutes.

Crown Heights Gets a Modern-Day Watch Tower

In the aftermath of a series of violent assaults on members of the Jewish community in Crown Heights, the police department has deployed a piece of modern technology that is based on an age-old defense tactic: the watch tower.

The “sky tower,” as police call it, stands about 25 feet high on the corner of Carroll Street and Troy Avenue. A police officer sits behind tinted windows on a swivel chair inside the compartment, where he can monitor video feed from four cameras, and even the wind speed from a meter on the roof. This is the first time the police have used the tower for crime prevention. It was acquired earlier this summer and has been used at the West Indian Day parade and for security during President Bush’s visit to ground zero.

Crown Heights outrage

Gang attack on Hasid teen bias, protesters say

A 16-year-old Hasidic boy walking home from a Brooklyn synagogue on Yom Kippur was jumped by a group of teens who called him a “f—–g Jew,” witnesses and his family charged.

Mendel Chesney was heading home about 10 p.m. Sunday when he was attacked by as many eight young men on Carroll St. in Crown Heights, witnesses and police said.

“At first, I thought they might be playing around, so we walked over to where the crowd was. That’s when I see the talaisim [prayer shawls] and know it’s a Jewish person and hear someone say, ‘You f—–g Jew,’” said Michael Gitchel, who lives nearby.

NYPD Increases Its Presence on the Streets

Two mobile command posts have been set up one on Schenectady between Carroll and Crown and the other on the corner of Crown and Albany, officers posted on many street corners and officers walking up and down Kingston Ave. by day as well as the night.

We implore the 71st precinct to keep these officers out there till at least 5am each morning, as many of the posts are abandoned around 3am. These are good crime prevention measures, lets keep them up!

Still we urge residents to take extra care when out there, stay alert if you hear or see something don’t hesitate to call Shomrim at (718) 774-3333 and 911.

Robbery Gone Awry, Or A Drunk Mans Illusion?

At around 10:45pm on President between Kingston and Brooklyn a Mexican worker who resides at the construction site next to the school on the corner of Brooklyn Ave and protects the site, entered the house, which is easily accessible, and by his account was jumped by one or two Black males, and was assaulted and robbed.

The Mexican worker, not knowing a word of English, made his way stumbling down Kingston Ave to Kol-Tuv where he knew a worker who he told what had happened and he in turn called police. Response time was instant, 7 police cars showed up and began searching the house which turned up nothing. When taking the statement from the victim police officers noticed the man smelled of alcohol and began questioning if this whole incident even took place. Just to be sure they took him around for a canvass of the area for the two alleged Black males, which yielded no results either.

Brutal Assault on the Night of Yom Kippur

After Davening, at around 9:30 pm a sixteen year old Bochur was assaulted on Carroll St between Troy and Schenectady. The incident began when a group of about five to seven Black males surrounded the Bochur and hit the him in the head, followed by a wave of blows from the group, leaving the Bochur in need of medical attention.

Upon hearing calls for help, bystanders came forward, scaring off the group, who fled on Carroll towards Troy with a group of Yidden hot on their trail. Police stationed on President and Troy saw what was going on and joined in on the pursuit, catching result of which ended in the apprehension of three out of the group.

Back on Carroll street, Hatzalah responded and began treating the Bochur for the extensive injuries to his head, including a broken nose, cuts to the back of his head and face, and his eyes swollen shut. When being questioned as to what had taken place the Bochur was incoherent and mixed up, which worried Hatzalah. At first he said that they demanded money, while the assault didn’t look like that of an attempted mugging.

Woman tries to pass Counterfeit $50 Bills, Apprehended

On Tuesday, a woman entered a number of stores on Troy Ave and attempted to purchase items using a counterfeit $50 bill. The woman, described as a Black Female, hit three stores on the Avenue, one of which refused the bill. Two other stores accepted purchases ranging from Twenty dollars, to twenty five dollars. The Police were then called after one of the stores, Crown Fabrics, noticed the fake bill. However, the woman had already left the store, and was long gone.

When the police arrived, the sergeant informed the store owner that not much can be done other then to contact the Secret Service which is the government department that handles counterfeit money cases. The sergeant then told the store owner that he will take care of the calls and reports. Later on it occurred to the store owner to check with neighboring stores if the woman attempted to pass the bad money at their stores as well, and turns out the woman made a stop at a hair salon where she made a twenty to twenty five dollar purchase. One other store, My Sweet Art, refused the bill.