A driver in New York was arrested after he allegedly jumped a curb and tried to mow down a group of students and rabbis on the lawn outside a Jewish school in Brooklyn.
Asghar Ali, 58, allegedly slammed on his brakes before turning his car around and accelerating toward the group outside the Mesivta Nachlas Yakov School in Canarsie, according to Fox 5.
Witnesses on the scene alleged that the driver was yelling antisemitic slurs from his car, including the phrase “I’m going to kill all the Jews.”
Police say that Mr Ali was driving a white Ford sedan on Glenwood Road before turning east on 55th Street, where he allegedly drove towards the pedestrians on Wednesday.
Mr Ali allegedly tried to flee the scene, but community members and police tracked him down, after which he was arrested.
No one was injured in the attack, police said.
A police report stated that there were five victims allegedly targeted in the attack, including three 18-year-old men, a 41-year-old man, and a 44-year-old man.
Mr Ali is reportedly a Pakistani immigrant who drives a cab, and police said he had a history of mental illness and four prior arrests.
Simon Gifter, a freelance journalist who was at the police station at the same time as the suspect, said he heard the suspect ranting inside the facility.
"I was outside and I heard him screaming non-stop like a maniac," he told ABC7.
"Asghar Ali's attempt to mow down students outside the Mesivta Nachlas Yakov School in Canarsie is reprehensible and will not be tolerated," Farah Louis, a New York city council member, said. "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."
Mr Ali was questioned by the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force on Wednesday night, and police are continuing to investigate the attack.
They do not believe the attack was terror-related and are investigating it as an isolated incident, according to The New York Post.
Jewish community leader Leon Goldenberg told ABC7 that Jewish organizations in New York have been on guard in the wake of Israel's ongoing military action in Gaza.
"There is a real fear in the community that this is just one incident and that something more tragic will happen. Much more tragic," he said.
Mr Ali has been charged with more than a dozen crimes, including attempted murder, attempted assault, menacing, and reckless driving as a hate crime.
