NYPD investigates NYC hate crime stabbings as antisemitism surges
NYC faces a surge in antisemitic hate crimes as the NYPD investigates two stabbings near Central Park. Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker highlights the “disproportionately high” threats against the Jewish community. The Secret Service also reports an “unprecedented” 40% increase in overall threats since January, heightening security concerns for public officials.
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A Brooklyn woman accused of stalking a rabbi before stabbing him with a syringe in Manhattan’s Diamond District allegedly attacked another man just two hours earlier, police said.
Anna Mochalova, 32, was arrested Saturday evening and charged with eight counts each of assault and menacing, along with two counts each of aggravated harassment and criminal possession of a weapon, police confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Manhattan Shomrim Safety Patrol credited its volunteers, the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force, Shomrim groups in Crown Heights and Queens, and tips from the public with helping secure the arrest.
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Surveillance video captures the area outside Diamond District storefronts during the encounter involving a rabbi who was stabbed Oct. 21, police said. (Manhattan Shomrim Safety Patrol)
“The suspect wanted for Wednesday’s two hate crime assaults in Midtown Manhattan is now in custody,” the group wrote on X.
The arrest followed a public appeal from Manhattan Shomrim seeking witnesses and security camera, dashcam or cellphone video from the Diamond District.
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A surveillance image shared by Manhattan Shomrim shows the suspect in the Oct. 21 attack on a rabbi in Manhattan’s Diamond District. (Manhattan Shomrim Safety Patrol)
The first attack was reported at about 5:50 p.m. Wednesday at West 45th Street and Avenue of the Americas, according to police.
A 37-year-old man told officers a person deliberately collided with him. When he confronted the person, he was struck in the forearm with a sharp object, suffering a laceration, police said.
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Manhattan Shomrim shared an arrest announcement after Anna Mochalova was taken into custody in connection with two Midtown assaults. (Manhattan Shomrim Safety Patrol)
The attacker fled on foot, and the victim declined medical attention at the scene.
About two hours later, police responded to a reported stabbing outside 15 West 47th Street. A 26-year-old man had been approached and stabbed in the back with an unknown sharp object, authorities said.
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He was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
The New York Post identified the second victim as a rabbi and reported that the attacker used a syringe. Police did not specify in their statement to Fox News Digital whether a syringe was used or what it may have contained.
Surveillance video shared by Manhattan Shomrim shows the suspected attacker following the rabbi around a parked car as he tries to avoid her before the stabbing, according to the Post.
The rabbi told the outlet he believes his appearance made him a target.
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“I never met that person before,” he said. “She passes by other people. I’m visibly Jewish.”
Despite the attack, the rabbi returned to the area the next day to continue Jewish outreach, the Post reported. He credited his grandparents, who survived the Holocaust, with inspiring him to return.
“They went on to build a Jewish home after the Holocaust,” he told the outlet. “If they could survive, I must go back to spread the light.”
Advocacy group StopAntisemitism also condemned the reported attack.
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“What has happened to NYC, a once safe haven for Jews?” the group wrote on X.
The attacks come as confirmed hate crimes across New York City rose nearly 13% during the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, according to NYPD figures.
Anti-Jewish incidents accounted for more than half of the city’s 463 confirmed hate crimes. Police recorded 245 anti-Jewish hate crimes through September, up from 242 during the same period in 2025.
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The NYPD confirmed its Hate Crime Task Force is investigating both incidents.