Man Arrested After Repeatedly Ramming Car into Brooklyn Synagogue — NYPD Investigating as a Hate Crime

A man was arrested Wednesday evening after repeatedly ramming his car into the doors of a Brooklyn synagogue, Fox News reported, and the New York Police Department is investigating the crash as a hate crime.

The incident occurred around 8:45 pm ET at the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in the Crown Heights neighborhood, reported Chanley Painter on Thursday morning’s episode of Fox & Friends.

“Thousands of congregants” were inside at the time for a religious anniversary celebration, and “thankfully nobody was hurt,” said Painter as a video clip played showing a gray Honda sedan repeatedly backing up and ramming into the doors of the building, knocking the doors off their hinges.

The police were called, Painter said, and “the driver eventually exited his car and witnesses were able to identify him to the police that were there saying the man was angry, yelling at people nearby, saying things like quote, ‘I don’t know, it slipped, it slipped,’ while gesturing to his car.” The man also told police that his car “suffered mechanical issues,” she added.

The driver was “promptly arrested,” said Painter, and the NYPD is investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Multiple witnesses on the scene told the New York Post that they had seen the driver “lurking outside” the synagogue before the incident, Painter continued, and “they believe he is the same man that they have seen at other locations in New Jersey in recent months, even at one point allegedly seeking spiritual guidance.”

The New York Times reported that the man who was arrested has been identified as Dan Sohail, 36, a resident of Caharet, New Jersey, according to a “senior law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.”

According to the Times, Sohail was observed as “wearing shorts despite the temperature of 16 degrees,” was swiftly arrested and handcuffed by two NYPD officers, and “[did] not resist,” but “appear[ed] to spit at the crowd as the officers lead him toward a police vehicle.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a statement late Wednesday evening from the scene, writing that he was “relieved that no one was injured in this horrifying incident.”

“This is deeply alarming,” Mamdani continued, “especially given the deep meaning and history of the institution to so many in New York and around the world. Any threat to a Jewish institution or place of worship must be taken seriously. Antisemitism has no place in our city, and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable.”

He added that he stood “in solidarity with the Crown Heights Jewish community,” and thanked the first responders “for taking swift action.”

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) both posted statements condemning the attack.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dillion posted that she had instructed the criminal prosecutors in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division “to open a civil rights investigation into this violent attack.”

Watch the clip above via Fox News.

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