By Gus Saltonstall
The NYPD released a photo Thursday night of a man wanted in connection with an antisemitic attack in Central Park in July, police said.
A 70-year-old man was walking in the park at around 6 p.m. on July 13 on West Drive near West 85th Street, when a man biked up to him and “engaged him in a dispute,” police said.
The man on the bike proceeded to punch the victim multiple times in the upper body, while making antisemitic comments, NYPD added. The attacker then fled on the bike south into Central Park, according to police. The victim had minor injuries, but was not hospitalized.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.
Here is a photo of the suspect, provided by police.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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I thought city bikes could be tracked?
Doesn’t look like that’s one of the models with a battery.
I hope City Bikes can be tracked somehow, and that this attacker can be apprehended and charged with a hate crime. A menace and a criminal.
Would be nice to know what’s being called “anti-Semitic” here.
No, the bike is likely not trackable.
Why is “anti-Semitic” used in quotes here? Do you think the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is just investigating some random attack?
I did a little Google search about the incident and the victim is quoted:
According to the victim, “He said, ‘I’ll kill you and I’ll kill your animal. You f–king Jew Pig. Jew. You Jew. You Jew. You f–king Jew.’” the journalist recalled.
I think that pretty much qualifies as anti-Semitic. No quotes (or doubt) necessary.
Because a lot of things claimed to be “anti-Semitic” aren’t, so I want to know what was said.
What you quoted certainly qualifies as anti-Semitic.
I agree and thank you for the response. Having said that, your post did seem very dismissive of the issue and a quick search would have revealed the true nature of what was said. I think everyone, myself included, should do a better of job of understanding an issue before posting.
Not:
The WSJ essay in which the claims were made starts out with the author (alleged victim here) claiming that things which are not anti-Semitic are indeed anti-Semitic.
Only then does he quote what was yelled at him.
Your Googling should have found that problem.
So careful with “true nature” claims, you missed something big.
If this Citibike had a license on it which we have been fighting for (nycevsa.org) this rider could be easily found. This might deter some from acting in a criminal manner. But the city
and state have ignored the crisis caused by unregulated, unlicensed e-bikes and Citibikes! They are well aware of this problem and choose not to address the issue. The only identifying number on the Citibike is where you can’t see it.
I hope they find this hate crime perpetrator before he acts again.
Think there’s a significant possibility here that the bike was stolen.
I don’t understand why NYC Police take so long to release a photo of a suspect. This incident happened almost four weeks ago. Wouldn’t it be far more effective if the photo of a suspect was released much more quickly after an incident?
I’ve been asking the same question for years. Also, once a photo is released, why isn’t it kept on our TV screens/social media until the perps are caught/arrested? Haven’t heard another peep about the 15-20 ‘kids,’ who pulled a knife on the man near Wollman Rink over a week ago.
Seems like an emotionally disturbed person. Does he even have the state of mind to understand the alleged offense let alone purposefully commit that offense?
Frankly, I’m sick of the “emotionally disturbed” and/or “mentally ill” excuse being trotted out. I honestly don’t give a hoot about that anymore. I’m way past caring about the welfare of people who commit these hideous crimes against people just minding their own business.
Whether or not the guy had the state of mind that you say is required for understanding the alleged offense, the rest of the citizens need their security protected. The way things are now, many individuals of unsound mind commit crimes over and over, are arrested over and over, and then are back out on the street over and over. A healthy society cannot tolerate depredations such are described in the article.
Are you making excuses for this perp with unfounded conjecture? Catch the perp and then let the authorities determine the cause of the crime.