A Pakistani immigrant and cab driver is being investigated by the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force after he allegedly tried to mow down Jewish students, rabbis and others with his car in a Brooklyn neighborhood on Wednesday.
No one was injured when police say 58-year-old Asghar Ali targeted Jews in Brooklyn’s Canarsie neighborhood with the vehicle.
The man reportedly made a number of anti-Semitic comments as he allegedly attempted to use his car against five people who were standing outside of the Jewish Mesivta Nachlas Yakov School.
WNYW-TV reported witnesses said Ali passed the school in his white Ford sedan on 55th Street near Glenwood Road when he saw his would-be victims.
The man reportedly turned around, hopped a curb, and drove down a sidewalk at a high rate of speed in an attempt to run over the innocent Jews in what the outlet called an attempted “rampage.”
The harrowing moment was caught on video and shared on social media:
🚨 BREAKING: Attempted Mass Murder of Jews in Brooklyn Hate Crime
⚠️ Muslim Maniac Screams ‘I’m Gonna Kill All the Jews’ as He Tries to Run Down Students Outside NYC Jewish School
📰 The Incident: On May 29, Asghar Ali, a 58-year-old Pakistani Muslim immigrant and cab driver… pic.twitter.com/dasfQbhmIE
— Shirion Collective (@ShirionOrg) May 30, 2024
Ali’s alleged targets were three 18-year-old students and two rabbis in their 40s.
No one was injured and Ali ended up driving off, but he did not make it far before neighborhood residents and police tracked him down.
Ali reportedly hurled anti-Semitic slurs during the alleged attempted attack and was reportedly heard uttering, "I'm going to kill all the Jews.”
He was taken into police custody for questioning and charged with more than a dozen crimes.
WNYW reported the police department’s hate crimes unit is leading an investigation into the incident.
Ali faced charges of attempted murder, attempted assault, menacing, reckless driving as a hate crime and other charges on Thursday morning.
City Councilor Farah Louis, who represents the neighborhood, said in a statement that actions such as Ali’s alleged attempted mass killing would “not be tolerated.”
My statement on the antisemitic attack that occurred in the Canarsie section of my district. No group or community should live in fear of violence, discrimination, or intimidation, and we must address the rising trend of antisemitism to prevent such hateful acts in the future. pic.twitter.com/AIvyn0mkFj
— Council Member Farah N. Louis (@CMFarahLouis) May 30, 2024
“Asghar Ali's attempt to mow down students outside the Mesivta Nachlas Yakov School in Canarsie is reprehensible and will not be tolerated,” Louis said in the statement.
She concluded, “No group or community should live in fear of violence, discrimination, or intimidation. We must address the rising trend of antisemitism to prevent such hateful acts in the future.”
Canarsie has a large Jewish population.
WNYW reported Ali has a history of mental illness and had been arrested four times since 1998 before Wednesday’s attempt to allegedly mow down Jews in America’s most populated city.
Police told WNYW they did not believe Ali’s alleged actions were terror-related and that the alleged attempt to kill Jews was isolated.
