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 allegedly attacked two men in Midtown Manhattan before asking a third whether he was Jewish and walking away when he said he was Muslim, according to a criminal complaint.
Anna Mochalova, 32, was arrested Saturday evening, police confirmed to Fox News Digital. She now faces hate crime charges in the attacks, which occurred five minutes apart, according to the complaint, and left one man hospitalized and another with a cut to his forearm.
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.
MAN CHARGED WITH ASSAULT, HATE CRIMES AFTER ALLEGEDLY DISRUPTING SHABBAT SERVICES AT NYC SYNAGOGUE
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.
BRONX MAN ACCUSED OF ATTACKING SHABBAT WORSHIPPERS ADMITTED MOTIVE IN RECORDED INTERVIEW, FEDS SAY
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 criminal complaint, provided to Fox News Digital by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, places the first attack outside 15 W. 47th St. around 5:50 p.m. Wednesday.
A man dressed in traditional Hasidic Jewish clothing told investigators a woman approached him and began following him, continuing across the street when he tried to get away.
Cornered against a vehicle, he felt a sharp, stinging sensation in his lower back, according to the complaint. He suffered a cut, bleeding and substantial pain.
Police said the 26-year-old was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
Manhattan Shomrim shared an arrest announcement after Anna Mochalova was taken into custody in connection with two Midtown assaults. (Manhattan Shomrim Safety Patrol)
About five minutes later, a man wearing a yarmulke was waiting to cross at Sixth Avenue and West 45th Street when someone repeatedly pushed into him from behind. He then felt a painful sting in his right forearm, according to the complaint.
The man turned around and saw a woman matching the first victim’s description. He told investigators she threatened him in Russian, warning that she had a gun and would shoot him if he did not leave.
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She allegedly reached toward the inside of her jacket, leading him to believe she had a firearm.
Police said the 37-year-old suffered a cut to his forearm and declined medical attention at the scene.
He also told investigators he saw the woman approach another man nearby and ask in English whether he was Jewish. When the man said he was Muslim, she apologized and walked away, according to the complaint.
The complaint’s timeline places the attacks five minutes apart. The initial NYPD statement listed police response times two hours apart.
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A Hate Crimes Task Force detective reviewed surveillance video from West 47th Street and created a still image of the suspect. Another NYPD officer recognized Mochalova based on previous interactions with her, according to the complaint.
Mochalova was arraigned on two counts of second-degree assault as a hate crime, one count of second-degree menacing as a hate crime, and two counts each of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree aggravated harassment, the DA’s office confirmed.
The judge set bail at $50,000 cash or $150,000 bond, half the amounts prosecutors requested. Her next court appearance is Oct. 29.
Her attorney, Legal Aid’s Lila Carpenter, questioned whether police had identified the right person during Sunday’s arraignment, the New York Post reported.
“These allegations are concerning. Whether they’re my client’s is a different story,” Carpenter told the court, according to the outlet.
The Post identified the 26-year-old victim as a rabbi and reported that the attacker used a syringe. Neither the police statement to Fox News Digital nor the complaint identified the sharp object as a syringe.
The rabbi told the Post he believed his appearance made him a target. Despite the attack, he returned to the area the next day to continue Jewish outreach, crediting his grandparents, who survived the Holocaust, with inspiring him.
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Advocacy group StopAntisemitism also condemned the reported attack.
“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.
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