Brooklyn woman arraigned on hate crime charges after 2 Jewish men attacked
Caught on Camera: Jewish man stabbed in NYC in possible hate crime
The NYPD is searching for a woman caught on surveillance video following and stabbing a Hasidic man in Midtown Manhattan. Investigators believe the weapon may have been a syringe and are looking into whether the attack was motivated by antisemitism. FOX 5 NY’s Jessica Formoso has the details.
NEW YORK - A 32-year-old Brooklyn woman has been arrested and faces multiple hate crime charges in connection with the alleged stabbing of a Jewish man in Midtown Manhattan.
Anna Mochalova, a Brighton Beach resident, is accused of assaulting two separate people on Wednesday, October 21, including the 26-year-old victim who was attacked from behind in the Diamond District.
According to state records, Mochalova was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on a slate of charges, including two counts of hate crime/assault with intent to injure with a weapon. She also faces one count of hate crime/menacing in the second degree with a weapon, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and two counts of aggravated harassment in the second degree based on race or religion.
Prosecutors requested bail at $100,000 cash or $300,000 bond, but the judge set bail at $50,000 cash or $150,000 bond, per state records.
Dig deeper:
According to a criminal complaint, police have now revealed details about the second alleged attack, which unfolded just minutes after the first.
At around 5:55 p.m., Mochalova allegedly approached a second man waiting to cross the intersection at Avenue of the Americas and West 45th Street. The victim, who was wearing a yarmulke, told authorities he was pushed repeatedly from behind before feeling a sharp, stinging pain in his right forearm, leaving him with a bleeding laceration.
NYPD investigates possible hate crime after Jewish man stabbed in Midtown Manhattan
The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is investigating after a 26-year-old Jewish man was stabbed in Midtown Manhattan. Surveillance video of the attack shows the suspect dressed in black.
When the victim turned around, he saw Mochalova, who allegedly threatened him in Russian, saying: "Run away from here, I have a gun, I am going to shoot you."
She then reached inside her jacket as if brandishing a firearm, placing the victim in immediate fear for his life, the complaint states.
The victim also reported that Mochalova then approached another nearby bystander, asking him in English: "Are you Jewish?" When the man answered that he was Muslim, Mochalova apologized and walked away.
The backstory:
The first incident occurred around 5:50 p.m. outside 15 West 47th Street.
Surveillance video captured a woman dressed in black with a brown faux-fur jacket and backpack following the 26-year-old victim and speaking in a foreign language, before cornering him against a vehicle, where prosecutors allege she plunged an unidentified sharp object, suspected to be a syringe, into the man's lower back.
EMS transported the victim to a local hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
Community leaders said the victim appeared to have been targeted while wearing traditional Hasidic Jewish clothing. According to prosecutors, an NYPD transit officer later identified Mochalova from surveillance stills based on previous interactions.
What's next:
Mochalova, represented by Lila Carpenter of The Legal Aid Society, did not immediately enter a plea and is due back in court on October 29.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from the NYPD, surveillance video provided by the Manhattan Shomrim Safety Patrol and NY State criminal records.