A New York City man has been charged with a hate crime after he allegedly yelled "Free Palestine" as he stabbed a man of the Jewish faith outside a Brooklyn synagogue, said police.
Victor Sumpter, 22, also reportedly asked the 33-year-old victim, "Do you want to die?" before allegedly plunging a knife into his abdomen around 2 a.m., Saturday, according to local Rabbi Yaacov Behrman.
"This is an extremely serious incident. The victim could have been killed," Behrman wrote on X, hours later, adding the victim is expected to recover. "This act of hateful violence highlights the dangerous impact of anti-Semitic incitement and hate propagated by some local politicians and leaders in New York and across the United States."
"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."
"I know the victim, though I have not yet spoken to him directly since the incident. He has long-standing ties to the community," he added.
3) https://t.co/yOe7TIfCAn pic.twitter.com/mrMg7Q8OMH
— Crown Heights Shmira (@CHSPshmira) August 11, 2024
Surveillance video of the incident posted on X appears to show two men in white shirts walking toward the suspect, prompting him to walk backward. The men then try to flee as Sumpter appears to allegedly lunge and stab one of them repeatedly in the stomach.
Sumpter is also charged with attempted murder in connection with the incident, jail records show. He is being held on $250,000 bond.
