Three New York teens were arrested on hate crime charges Sunday night after authorities said they threw a rock at a Jewish man and threatened to beat him up at a bus stop just blocks from a Staten Island synagogue.
Police said the teens surrounded the man, who was not identified, at a bus stop on the corner of Harold Street and Washington Avenue, less than a half-mile from Young Israel of Staten Island, an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, the Staten Island Advance reported.
The teens threw a rock at the man, threatened to beat him up, and mocked his yarmulke, police said.
The man escaped unharmed and called the police. The three boys were arrested a short time later.
Kareem Cook, 17, was carrying a kitchen knife when he was arrested and charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon, the Staten Island Advance reported.
The names of the other two teens arrested were not released because they are both 15-year-old minors, the paper reported.
They were both charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime, assault as a hate crime and menacing as a hate crime. One of the 15-year-olds was also reportedly charged with resisting arrest.
Councilman Steven Matteo said in a statement: “This is an unfortunate incident. No one should be targeted for violence for any reason. I applaud the NYPD for their quick and diligent work, and I am confident that our Acting District Attorney will see that justice is done in this case,” JP Updates reported.
Sunday’s incident was the second alleged hate crime reported in a two-day span, though the NYPD does not believe the attacks to be connected.
On Friday afternoon, a 28-year-old white man was attacked in Stapleton by five black men yelling racist slurs, police said.
Police have yet to make any arrests in that case, the Staten Island Advance reported.
