{"id":139136,"date":"2026-02-19T20:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/139136\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T20:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:08:09","slug":"queens-pastors-son-charged-with-attempted-assault-still-hospitalized","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/139136\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens pastor\u2019s son charged with attempted assault, still hospitalized"},"content":{"rendered":"

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JAMAICA, Queens, N.Y. \u2013 Jabez Chakraborty, 22, was arraigned from his hospital bed last Friday (Feb. 13) where he is still recovering from being shot four times in his home Jan. 26 by New York City Police Officer Tyree White. (See original Baptist Press article here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz filed charges of attempted assault in the first degree, a felony that could carry a 15-year prison sentence, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, a Class A misdemeanor, which could result in a year\u2019s jail term.<\/p>\n

An attorney entered a not-guilty plea on Jabez\u2019 behalf. Judge Jessica Earle-Gargan granted Jabez\u2019 release from police custody with payment of a $50,000 bail, though he remains in Jamaica Hospital Medical Center\u2019s Intensive Care Unit with a colostomy bag. He can\u2019t walk or even stand on his legs, his father, Pastor Hector Chakraborty of Bangal Baptist Church in Queens, told Baptist Press. Jabez\u2019 handcuffs and leg shackles have been removed, the Southern Baptist pastor added.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a long, difficult recovery ahead,\u201d the Chakraborty family said in a written statement. \u201cNow DA Katz wants to put him in prison. Hasn\u2019t he suffered enough?\u201d<\/p>\n

At issue is the juxtaposition of Jabez\u2019 mental health and the possibility of prison. He has had schizophrenia since he was in junior high, a \u201cserious mental health condition that affects how people think, feel and behave. It may result in a mix of hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking and behavior,\u201d according to the Mayo Clinic.<\/p>\n

New York City\u2019s Mayor Zohram Mamdani has said he doesn\u2019t believe Jabez should be charged with a crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo family should have to endure this kind of pain,\u201d Mamdani said during a press conference on an unrelated matter. \u201cWhat they need right now is care, dignity and support. Jabez should not be prosecuted by the Queen\u2019s district attorney. \u2026 He should be receiving the care that he needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katz defended her charging decision, rhetorically asking: \u201cWhat happens if we take no action and he harms someone else? Mr. Chakraborty\u2019s actions were quite serious, and he now faces serious consequences,\u201d according to an article in The City newspaper.<\/p>\n

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Little things, like seeing a fly or a mouse, can trigger Jabez\u2019 schizophrenia, family members have said. When they realized they couldn\u2019t calm him down on Jan. 26, his sister Naomi called 911 and asked for an ambulance to take Jabez to involuntary commitment at a hospital.<\/p>\n

The 911 operator said it was standard procedure to also send police. Officers arrived before the ambulance and when Jabez saw them from the kitchen, he quickly strode towards them, carrying the knife he had been going to use to make breakfast, his father said.<\/p>\n

When Officer White saw the 8-inch knife, Jabez\u2019 mother within striking distance, and Jabez advance toward him, he yelled, \u201cDrop the knife! Drop the knife!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jabez kept coming. The officer moved back and closed the vestibule door. (A vestibule is a small space between the outer door and the home\u2019s interior.) Jabez managed to open the door, but then stepped back to the center of the living room. Continually yelling for Jabez to let go of the knife, Officer White shot four times, but stopped when Jabez sank onto the couch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have talked with Pastor Hector several times and have tried to reassure him that despite what it looks like right now, God\u2019s grace will see his family through this harrowing experience,\u201d Baptist Convention of New York Executive Director Frank Williams told Baptist Press. \u201cAs a state convention we have been praying for this family ever since this unfortunate incident occurred. We will continue to stand in prayerful and in public support of Pastor Hector and his family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Karen L. Willoughby is a national correspondent for Baptist Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JAMAICA, Queens, N.Y. \u2013 Jabez Chakraborty, 22, was arraigned from his hospital bed last Friday (Feb. 13) where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139137,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-139136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}