Security was increased on Thursday in the New York hamlet of Monsey, about 30 miles north of New York City, where an Orthodox Jewish man was stabbed multiple times a day earlier while on his way to synagogue.
The Anti-Defamation League said it is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest or conviction in the case.
The Jewish man, a 30-year-old teacher and father of four, was stabbed near the synagogue Mosdos Meharam Brisk Tashnad by assailants who then fled the scene.
Emergency-services worker Israel Altman said the victim was about to enter the synagogue at 2 Howard Drive when he was “jumped and beaten, and stabbed multiple times.” He said surveillance video shows two attackers driving through the neighborhood before injuring the victim.
He added that “no words were exchanged, and they pummeled him to the ground for several minutes.”
The victim was rushed to Westchester Medical Center in critical condition and reportedly remained in the same condition after undergoing surgery.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered New York’s State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to assist in investigating the incident.
“We cannot allow the cancer of hate to metastasize any further,” he said. “The escalation of hatred and anti-Semitism must end here and now, I urge all New Yorkers to denounce hate wherever and whenever they see it.”