{"id":307843,"date":"2026-07-28T18:27:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T18:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/307843\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T18:27:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T18:27:39","slug":"hammer-wielding-maniac-invades-queens-jewish-school-while-chasing-woman-injures-child-with-shove-sources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/307843\/","title":{"rendered":"Hammer-wielding maniac invades Queens Jewish School while chasing woman, injures child with shove: Sources"},"content":{"rendered":"

A hammer-wielding maniac was arrested at a Queens<\/a> Jewish school on Tuesday morning for allegedly menacing a woman with the weapon and shoving an 8-year-old child, police reported.<\/p>\n

Sources close to the investigation said the disturbing incident \u2014 now being investigated as a possible hate crime amid an ongoing surge of antisemitism citywide<\/a> \u2014 occurred just before 10:50 a.m. on July 28 at the Jewish Institute of Queens, located at 60-05 Woodhaven Blvd. in Elmhurst, which serves students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement sources said the perpetrator, a 42-year-old emotionally disturbed man, allegedly wielded a hammer while chasing a woman into the school off the street and into the school. Security staff immediately stopped the suspect, and they disarmed him.<\/p>\n

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. The youngster suffered a laceration to his head. EMS rushed the child to Long Island Jewish Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, school staff called 911 and officers from the 112th Precinct<\/a> responded to the scene. Cops took the perpetrator at the scene; criminal charges are pending the results of the investigation.<\/p>\n

The suspect, who authorities have yet to name, is reportedly no stranger to police. Sources say he was most recently cuffed in Manhattan on July 24 after stealing $1300 worth of merchandise from Bergdorf Goodman. On July 8 he was taken into police custody for a petit larceny in Queens. He also is accused of having gang ties in East New York.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The incident happened amid an ongoing uptick in hate crimes targeting Jewish New Yorkers. Last week, a suspect was arrested for stabbing two men on the Upper West Side; in one instance, the perpetrator used a screwdriver to attack a Jewish man while shouting \u201cAllah akhbar,\u201d Arabic for \u201cGod is great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although no connections have been made between such crimes and Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s rhetoric on the war in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>, some elected officials have called upon the mayor to lower the temperature. They have argued that his statements have contributed to an air of hostility toward the Jewish community.<\/p>\n

The mayor stressed on Monday that his condemnation of the war should not be interpreted as an attack on Israel or the Jewish people altogether.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I will say is that here in New York City, one of my top priorities is keeping Jewish New Yorkers safe, keeping every single New Yorker safe,\u201d Mamdani said at a July 27 press conference. \u201cWhen I make criticisms of Prime Minister Netanyahu, they are criticisms of Prime Minister Netanyahu.\u201d<\/p>\n