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Shabbat assault in Midtown
A man disrupted Shabbat services at Central Synagogue in Manhattan on Friday evening and struck a member of the congregation and a security guard while security escorted him out, according to New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
“It all unfolded just after 6 p.m. as the service was getting started inside Central Synagogue”
NYPD said the suspect damaged synagogue property and spit at and headbutted a member of the security team at the Lexington Avenue synagogue near East 55th Street.
CBS News reported the incident unfolded just after 6 p.m. as the service was getting started inside Central Synagogue on Lexington Avenue near East 55th Street, and a live stream captured the panic as a man shouted while a security guard attempted to restrain and remove him.
CBS News also said police reported Larry Montes, 46, struck a 63-year-old woman as he was being escorted out, and that he spit at and headbutted a member of the security team.
Arrest, charges, and quotes
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the man was identified as Larry Montes, 46, and that he was charged with two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime for the incident at Manhattan's Central Synagogue.
In a statement posted on X, Tisch said, "As synagogue security was escorting him out, he struck a member of the congregation, damaged synagogue property, and then spit at and headbutted a member of the security team," and CBS News described the incident as a hate crime disruption during Shabbat services.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was "horrified" by the assault at Central Synagogue during services, and he said, "Every New Yorker must be able to observe their religion without fear of violence."
The New York Times reported that a 46-year-old man was taken into custody by police on Friday evening after disrupting worship at Central Synagogue in Midtown East around 6 p.m., and it said a motive had not been determined.
Injuries, investigation, and aftermath
CBS News said the 63-year-old woman suffered a small laceration to her lip and her right forearm was hurt, and it reported that police said there were no serious injuries.
“Police say the 63-year-old woman suffered a small laceration to her lip”
The New York Times said the assailant hit a 63-year-old woman in her face with his hand, leaving a laceration on her lip, and spat at and head-butted a 65-year-old male security guard, causing pain and swelling.
The New York Daily News reported that the NYPD is investigating the assault as a possible hate crime and said the assault is being investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force.
The New York Daily News also reported that congregants at the Midtown synagogue finished the Shabbat service, and it quoted Central Synagogue’s senior rabbi, Angela Buchdahl, writing, "It is a testament to the strength of our community that services resumed immediately".
