Man on moped threw box cutter at 77-year-old in apparent hate crime in Williamsburg

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
77-year-old man bruised, shaken after apparent hate crime in Brooklyn
77-year-old man bruised, shaken after apparent hate crime in BrooklynPolice are searching for a moped-riding man in connection with a hate crime investigation in Brooklyn.

WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A 77-year-old man is shaken after an apparent antisemitic attack in Williamsburg.

The victim, who would like only to be called CZ, says it all happened in a flash.

A man on a moped allegedly screamed something and then threw an open box cutter at CZ's face as he sat in his car on Broadway Monday afternoon.

"He said, effing Jew," CZ said. "Then he run away."

CZ suffered a great deal of bruising and a small cut but is otherwise just shaken up.

He said he's full of gratitude that the open blade of the box cutter missed his eye.

"It was open not closed," CZ said. "I was very lucky that he couldn't throw straight."

He's mostly worried about his neighbors with someone who would do this still out there.

"If they can catch him, it will help good for my neighbors," CZ said. "They're quiet people. That he's out there, someone like that is a problem."

The man took off on the moped after tossing the box cutter at CZ and was last seen wearing a neon orange shirt.

The NYPD Crime Task Force is investigating this incident.

Anti-Semitic attacks are down 23.80% as of June 25 with 112 incidents this year versus 147 at this point last year.

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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