New York attack: Man arrested after five people stabbed at rabbi’s house during Hanukkah celebration
A suspect has been arrested after five people were stabbed at a Hasidic rabbi’s New York home during a Hanukkah celebration, an attack Governor Andrew Cuomo has branded “domestic terrorism”.
One person was very seriously wounded, the governor told reporters, and remains in critical condition. The rabbi’s son was also injured, Mr Cuomo said. His status and that of the other victims was not immediately clear.
Witnesses said the rabbi was near the Hanukkah candles at his home in Monsey, in the Hudson Valley, on Saturday when an intruder stormed in at about 10pm with a large knife and immediately started attacking people.
Police have not provided a motive for the attack, but Mr Cuomo, who visited the rabbi’s house on Sunday said: “This is an intolerant time in our country. We see anger, we see hatred exploding. It is an American cancer on the body politic.”
He said he believed the crime was an act of domestic terrorism and expected it to be prosecuted that way.
It follows a series of attacks targeting Jewish people in the region, including a massacre at a kosher grocery store in New Jersey earlier this month.
The large home was still cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape early on Sunday. According to public records, the home belongs to Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, who leads the synagogue next door.
Aron Kohn, who was inside the house at the time, told The New York Times: “I was praying for my life, he started attacking people right away as soon as he came in the door. We didn’t have time to react at all.”
The suspect had been arrested in New York City in the 32nd Precinct, which covers Harlem, around 30 miles from Monsey.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said: “Israel unequivocally condemns the recent expressions of antisemitism and the vicious attack in the middle of Hanukkah on the rabbi’s house in Monsey, New York. We send our wishes of recovery to the wounded. We will cooperate in every way with the local authorities in order to defeat this phenomenon. We offer our help to each and every state.”
Letitia James, the New York attorney general, said she was “deeply disturbed” by the events.
“There is zero tolerance for acts of hate of any kind and we will continue to monitor this horrific situation,” she said in a Twitter post.
The incident comes as New York City’s police department said on Friday that its officers were stepping up patrols in heavily Jewish neighbourhoods, following a spate of antisemitic attacks.
“Hate doesn’t have a home in our city,” Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote on Twitter on Friday, calling the assaults attacks on all New Yorkers.
With agencies
