Man accused of driving toward people outside New York Jewish school charged with hate crimes

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police arrested a man on hate crime charges after they say he shouted antisemitic threats while trying to mow down people with his car outside of a Jewish school.

Asghar Ali, 58, is charged with attempted murder as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime and reckless driving over the incident that happened just before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in front of an Orthodox Jewish school on Brooklyn.

Video footage posted on social media by the Flatbush Shomrim Safety Patrol, a volunteer security force, shows a driver pull onto a sidewalk and then speed up toward two men in Hasidic clothing, who flee.

The man then drives around the block and back toward the school, this time targeting three men standing outside.

“He came once and then he came back,” 18-year-old student Ari Shleft told the Daily News. “The first time he came up on the sidewalk.”

The driver “made antisemitic statements” while menacing the victims, a police spokesperson said, adding that no one was injured.

Ali was arrested near the scene and was awaiting arraignment Thursday, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn district attorney’s office said. It was not clear if he had an attorney who might speak for him.

Mayor Eric Adams was asked about the incident in a radio interview late Wednesday and said Ali appears to have been emotionally disturbed.

A man who shares a Brooklyn apartment with Ali confirmed to the Daily News that his roommate suffers from mental health issues.

“He’s been to hospital many, many times — every eight to 10 months,” Abdullah Mustafa said. “He kept a knife under his pillow. He’s afraid someone is out to get him.”