BROOKLYN, NY – A driver repeatedly crashed his car into the rear doors of the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn on Tuesday night while people inside screamed in terror, prompting federal and local hate crime investigations.
The incident unfolded just before 9 p.m. when NYPD officers stationed outside the religious center on Eastern Parkway heard a commotion and witnessed a Honda sedan slamming into the building’s wooden doors over and over again.
“Officers heard a commotion and saw the driver strike the rear door, reverse his vehicle and then strike the rear door again,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed at a press conference.
Video footage of the attack shows the vehicle ramming the doors while occupants of the building can be heard screaming. The synagogue was evacuated as a precaution, though no injuries were reported.
The driver was arrested at the scene. The NYPD Bomb Squad examined the vehicle but found no explosive devices inside. Authorities have not yet released the suspect’s identity or announced formal charges.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights has opened a civil rights investigation into the incident. The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is also investigating.
Investigators discovered the same individual had previous contact with law enforcement at a Chabad location in South Brunswick, New Jersey, back in November. During that encounter, he was described as “acting odd” and expressed interest in converting while homeless. No arrest was made at that time.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it a “horrifying incident” and condemned the attack. “Antisemitism has no place in our city, and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable,” he said.
Governor Kathy Hochul echoed the sentiment, writing that “an attack against the Jewish community is an attack against all New Yorkers.”
