Man charged with attempted murder, hate crimes in stabbing near Brooklyn synagogue
By Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN
(CNN) — A 22-year-old man has been arrested and charged with 14 counts, including attempted murder, assault and hate crimes, on suspicion of stabbing a 33-year-old man near a Brooklyn synagogue over the weekend, police said.
Just before 2 a.m. Saturday, officers responded to Kingston Avenue in Crown Heights, around the corner from the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement on Eastern Parkway.
The 33-year-old was “slashed in the torso,” following a verbal dispute with the 26-year-old, who said, “Free Palestine,” police told CNN.
The victim was transported to Kings County Hospital in stable condition, police said.
The suspect, 22-year-old Vincent Sumpter, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault with intent to cause serious injury with a weapon, menacing, aggravated harassment based on race or religion and hate crimes, court documents show. CNN has reached out to an attorney for Sumpter for comment.
Sumpter pleaded not guilty to all charges. His bail was set at $100,000 and his next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.
In addition to shouting “Free Palestine,” the suspect asked the victim, “Do you want to die?” before stabbing him, according to court documents.
Members of the community pursued the suspect and detained him until police arrived and made an arrest, said Yaacov Behrman, a rabbi and spokesman for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. CNN has reached out to the synagogue for comment.
Behrman said he visited the victim, a Jewish man with long-standing ties to the community, in the hospital Sunday night.
“He is grateful to be alive and understands that if he had been stabbed just 4 centimeters away, the result would have been very different,” Behrman wrote. “He is recovering and will hopefully be released in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
The rabbi said the incident highlights the danger of antisemetic and hateful propaganda by some local politicians and leaders in New York and across the US.
“Take this incident as a warning of the potential consequences if such hateful rhetoric continues. When hate and incitement against a group are preached, it invariably leads to violence,” Behrman wrote.
CNN’s Jeff Winter contributed to this report.
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