A man armed with a hammer shoved an 8-year-old boy into a fence during a tussle with a security guard at a Jewish school in Queens after a woman he was pursuing fled into the building seeking refuge.
The 42-year-old attacker, who has been arrested about 50 times, was taken into custody Tuesday around 10:50 a.m. at the Jewish Institute of Queens on Woodhaven Boulevard in Woodhaven. The boy cut his head when he hit the fence. He was not seriously injured.
The suspect was chasing a college-age woman with a hammer when she darted into the front yard of the Jewish school and security there rushed to her aid.
Although she fled into a Jewish school for safety, police say the female victim is not Jewish and simply entered the school looking for help. Security staff immediately stopped the suspect, and they disarmed him.
As security attempted to force the suspect to the exit, cops said, he broke free and shoved an 8-year-old boy into a fence.
His last arrest was on July 24 when he was caught palming about $1,300 in merchandise from Bergdorf Goodman. He was released without bail after his arrest.
The release pattern before the school incident alarmed city officials.
Law enforcement sources said the suspect has 51 prior arrests, including an arrest last week for allegedly stealing about $1,300 worth of merchandise from Bergdorf Goodman. He had also been arrested earlier this month and in May on separate petit larceny and stolen property cases.
Authorities said he has a history of mental health-related incidents and documented gang affiliation.
He is also accused of having gang ties in East New York.
The man followed, briefly handed over the hammer when staff asked, then became agitated and tried to rush a building as children prepared to leave.
A counselor was also bitten while helping subdue the man.
Council Member Phil Wong said police told him the school did not appear to have been the intended target, stating “Based on the information relayed to me by the NYPD, the school does not appear to have been the intended target.”
Wong added that the NYPD was thoroughly investigating all aspects of the incident, including the possibility of a bias motive. The incident happened amid an ongoing uptick in hate crimes targeting Jewish New Yorkers.
State officials condemned the violence immediately.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement: “In a despicable act of violence, an 8-year-old boy was injured by an intruder at a Queens Jewish school. This child, his family, and all of our Jewish communities are in my prayers.”
A school official told NBC New York the incident was scary but expressed gratitude for their security guard who “heroically” stopped the man from entering the building.
In the viral moment unfolding Tuesday morning,
police received a 911 call about a disorderly man following a 19-year-old woman at around 10:50 a.m. The woman then fled to the Jewish Institute of Queens on Woodhaven Boulevard in Elmhurst to seek safety.
According to the NYPD, “A male chased a female into the location. He started acting erratic inside for a little bit, lays down and then when he’s running out of the location after that, that’s when he bumps the child.” The 8-year-old received “minor lacerations to the head” and was hospitalized after hitting the fence.
The child’s injury sparked swift police action.
Security staff immediately stopped the suspect, and they disarmed him.
Officers took the 42-year-old man into custody, and the charges were pending.
He was taken to Long Island Jewish Hospital with injuries that authorities described as non-life-threatening.
Police recovered the hammer at the scene and took the suspect into custody. Charges were pending Tuesday afternoon.