Members of Central Synagogue in Midtown Manhattan returned to worship Saturday morning with heightened security after an assault took place the night before.
A live stream of Friday’s service shows a loud thud, followed by yells of panic. When the camera flips to another angle, police can be seen escorting a man out of the synagogue.
In a social media post, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the man damaged property and hit a member of the congregation.
Police took 46-year-old Larry Montes into custody and charged him with two counts of assault as a hate crime, among other charges. His attorney information wasn’t immediately available.
Rabbi Andrew Kaplan Mandel acknowledged the assault during Saturday morning’s service.
“Our day of rest was interrupted last night by a security incident in our main sanctuary, but we are OK, we are safe, we are grateful to be here,” he said to those in attendance, as seen on the synagogue’s live stream. “We are grateful to our security for supporting us.”
Nearly a dozen armed police officers stood near the entrance of the building as members gathered for an intimate participatory worship.
“It just makes me sad that there’s this much hatred in this country, and intolerance,” Ruth Shuman said. “We’re all God’s creatures, and we have to find the best in each other.”
Several days ago, Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a closed-door session with several rabbis about how to combat antisemitism and keep Jewish New Yorkers safe.
On social media late Friday, Mamdani wrote in part: “This despicable act has no place in our city, and our administration will do everything in our power to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe.”
On Saturday afternoon, the mayor said he was “grateful to Central Synagogue’s security team for swiftly stepping in to prevent more violence, and to the NYPD sergeant who apprehended him and took him into custody.”
“Our administration will always stand against bigotry in all its forms,” he wrote in a post on X.
According to data from the NYPD, hate crimes in New York have gone up more than 9% in the first seven months of this year compared to the same time period last year.
More than half of those confirmed crimes were anti-Jewish hate crimes, despite Jewish New Yorkers only making up about 10% of the city’s population.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin, a member of Central Synagogue’s congregation herself, pointed to recent hate crimes against Jewish New Yorkers on her social media page.
She wrote in part: “We will continue fighting for a city where every New Yorker can live safely and proudly, no matter their faith.”
Nobody was seriously injured in Friday’s assault. The police commissioner said there are no additional known threats at this time.