Man charged with attempted murder and hate crime in stabbing near Brooklyn synagogue

CNN
—

A 22-year-old man has been arrested and charged with 14 counts, including attempted murder, assault and hate crimes, on suspicion of stabbing a 33-year-old man near a Brooklyn synagogue over the weekend, police said.

Shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday, officers responded to Kingston Avenue in Crown Heights, around the corner from the Chabad-Lubavitch movement's headquarters on Eastern Parkway.

The 33-year-old was “slashed in the upper body” after a verbal argument with the 26-year-old, who said “Free Palestine,” police told CNN.

The victim was taken to Kings County Hospital in stable condition, police said.

The suspect, 22-year-old Vincent Sumpter, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault with intent to cause serious injury with a weapon, menacing, aggravated harassment based on race or religion and hate crimes, court documents show. CNN has reached out to an attorney for Sumpter for comment.

Sumpter pleaded not guilty to all charges. His bail was set at $100,000 and his next court date is scheduled for Thursday.

According to court documents, the suspect not only shouted “Free Palestine” but also asked the victim, “Do you want to die?” before stabbing him.

Members of the community pursued the suspect and detained him until police arrived and arrested him, said Yaacov Behrman, a rabbi and spokesman for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. CNN has contacted the synagogue for comment.

Behrman said he visited the victim, a Jewish man with longstanding ties to the community, in the hospital on Sunday evening.

“He is grateful to be alive and understands that had he been stung from just four centimeters away, the outcome would have been very different,” Behrman wrote. “He is recovering and will hopefully be released in the next 24 to 48 hours.”

The rabbi said the incident highlights the danger of anti-Semitic and hateful propaganda from some local politicians and leaders in New York and across the United States.

“See this incident as a warning of the potential consequences if this hateful rhetoric continues. When hate and incitement are preached against a group, it inevitably leads to violence,” Behrman wrote.

CNN's Jeff Winter contributed to this report.