Charles, a sophomore at Kingsbridge Community College, was reportedly walking along Albany Avenue when a white attacker on a bicycle sprayed him with Mace.
Eyewitness News is told a GMC Envoy then pulled up, with a second man emerging from the vehicle to smash Charles in the back and arm with a nightstick. An adviser to the Charles family said both the attackers were wearing yarmulkes.
The suspects then fled. Charles was treated at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center and released.
The investigation was initially slowed by the refusal of neighborhood Hasidic residents to cooperate with authorities. But authorities announced this morning they are seeking 25-year-old Yitzhak Shuchat for questioning.
