Police arrested an 18-year-old Kensington resident in connection with alleged hate crimes in which eggs were thrown at a synagogue and Orthodox Jewish residents in Borough Park over the weekend, officials say.
Police arrested Mohib Hoque and charged him with three counts of hate crime assault, three counts of hate crime aggravated harassment, and hate crime/reckless endangerment in the second degree.
Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea they are questioning other teens with their parents in connection with the cases and might have more arrests soon.
On Nov. 9, at 6:05 p.m., the suspect threw an egg at a 38-year-old orthodox woman in front of 1442 38th St., police said. The woman was not hit by the egg and the suspect fled. Then, 10 minutes later, the suspect threw eggs at the open door of the Sanz Synagogue at 369 Dahill Road, police said. No injuries were reported in that incident.
On Sunday, November 10, at 4:15 p.m., a 50-year-old female was walking along 38th Street near 15th Avenue, when three males approached her from behind and hit her back with an egg, police said. Nothing was said to the woman and she refused medical attention at the scene.
Hoque is being charged in connection with all three incidents as hate crimes.
Chief Shea said the teen was being charged based on the “totality of the situation” and based on statements he made to detectives.
“Just because they were in the group doesn’t mean that they will be arrested, but there certainly could be added arrests,” Chief Shea said.
The incidents have sparked outrage in the community as a wave of hate crime incidents have swept the city in the last month.
Borough President Eric Adams is joining with the Anti Defamation League and the Board of Education to create a program entitled, “No Place for Hate,” that will engage students in the dangers of racism and anti-Semitism.
Anyone with information in regards to any of these hate crimes is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
