The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating an alleged bias incident, in which a swastika was discovered inscribed on the wall of a synagogue in Borough Park, sources told JP.

Borough Park Shomrim Patrol responded to a call on Sunday evening at around 7:00p.m. of a reported swastika inside Yoka Shul, located at 1243 55th street in Brooklyn, NY. The coordinator who arrived at the scene immediately alerted the NYPD.

As police arrived to the scene, higher ranking officials of the local precinct were called in. After a preliminary review, the Hate Crime Taks Force was alerted. They are currently investigating the incident as a hate crime, police sources told JP.

Several members of the Shul expressed their dismay at the horrific act, in particular as we are just three days away of the high holy days.

Police believe the incident had occurred some time Sunday morning, before it was discovered in the evening by members of the Shul.

“It’s very concerning that just days after holding a major press conference on antisemitism at City Hall, another hateful incident took place in the heart of the Jewish community in Borough Park,” Councilman David Greenfield told JP. “Clearly, more needs to be done to stop these attacks from happening.”

Councilman Brad Lander told JP in a statement, “I’m sick and tired of anti-Semitic hate crimes in Boro Park, in Brooklyn, and around the world. Carving a swastika into the wall of a shul whose rabbi is a Holocaust survivor is truly disgusting, and most be aggressively investigated and prosecuted. As we turn toward Rosh Hashanah, I pray for a strong NYPD response, and a new year without such hateful acts.”

A 24 year old man a great grand child of the Viznitz rabbi from Monsey is in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle Monday night.

Shortly after 10:00 pm Hatzolah responded to a call for a pedestrian struck on route 306 and Phyllis Terrace and found the man laying on the road unresponsive, after treating him on the scene they transported him to Westchester Medical Center where he was listed in critical but stable condition.

Investigators from the Ramapo police department responded to the scene shortly after the accident and closed off the street for the Investigation.

After hours of investigation Police determined that the driver of the vehicle struck the pedestrian who was walking in the roadway and caused the pedestrian to suffer injuries to the head and face

The family asks the public to be mispalel for the speedy recovery of Yisroel ben Shifra.

Sergei Sladkova

A prominent Jewish businessman was found dead in his vehicle early Wednesday morning in Moscow, Russia, sources told JP.

Police responded at about 7:15 this morning to Olonetskaya Street after receiving a call that a person’s body was found unresponsive on the driver’s seat in a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Police arrived to the scene and cordoned off the area for investigation.

A source with knowledge of the investigation told JP that police believe he was shot 19 times last night at about 11:00 pm through the front side window.

The victim was identified as Sergei Sladkova, 38, by members of ZAKA in Russia.

Local Russia TV reported that a business dispute was the motive behind the apparent homicide. Police were unable to confirm that and are at the scene to collect evidence.

ZAKA is working with the police and medical examiner to transfer the body to Israel, where he will be brought to kever yisrael.

The crime scene

Brooklyn, NY – The NYPD arrested and charged a 39-year-old man for stealing chickens from a Borough Park Kaporas center earlier today, JP has learned.

The suspect was identified as Hesa Tushar, a resident from NJ. Mr. Tushar along with two friends were driving down 14th Avenue shortly after 11:00 am, when he stepped out of his vehicle at the Klausenburg Kapura center located at 1419 50th street and stole a few chickens. He returned to his car, placed them in his trunk and took off, cops said.

A bystander who witnessed the incident called the Borough Park Shomrim Patrol, who followed the vehicle until police arrived and stopped the vehicle on 15th Avenue at the intersection of 48th Street. Cops took Mr. Tushar into custody and charged him with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.

The suspect sported a T-shirt with the words “Mercy For Animals” printed across the front of it.

Kaporas or Kapparot is a Jewish ritual practiced by orthodox Jews in the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, in which the person swings a live chicken or rooster over one’s head three times, symbolically transferring one’s sins to the chicken or rooster. The chicken is then slaughtered and donated to the poor for consumption at the pre-fast meal.

Brooklyn, NY – A man who stabbed and seriously injured another male in an apartment dispute was shot and killed by police officers in Kensington, Brooklyn, a short while ago.

NYPD and EMS responded at around 7:20pm to 820 Ocean Parkway after receiving a call of a fight in one of the apartments. Police officers who arrived at the scene, came across two men fighting, with one man wielding a knife and stabbing the other.

The officers ordered him to drop the weapon. After the suspect refused to comply, they discharged their guns and shot the him. EMS pronounced him DOA.

The male victim were transferred to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A female, who was on the scene as a witness, was not seriously hurt. She was being interviewed by cops at the scene.

Detectives discovered two knifes at the location a police source said.

A 78-year-old female, who worked as a home attendant for over three decades, died Wednesday night in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Borough Park after falling down a flight of stairs, police sources said

Hatzolah responded to a call at 1452 51 street, at 7:56pm of a woman laying on the floor unresponsive. First responding members found the woman unconscious at the stairway of the basement. They immediately dispatched multiple paramedics, but were unable to revive her.

She was pronounced dead at 8:03 pm.

NYPD detectives responded to the scene and launched an investigation. A preliminary report showed that the woman fell down a flight of stairs and died from head trauma. No foul play is suspected, sources said.

Her name is being withheld pending proper family notification.

A 21-year-old man will spend the night behind bars after he was caught red handed stealing copper pipes from a private house under construction in the heart of Borough Park.

Borough Park Shomrim received a phone call at around 3:15 pm of suspicious activity at a house located at 1675 50 street in Brooklyn. A Shomrim member dispatched to the scene found one of the windows broken.

He immediately alerted the NYPD, who responded to the scene and found the suspect, identified as Joseph Rushford, breaking out copper pipes from the walls in the home.

Rushford was taken into custody and charged with burglary.

JP has obtained pictures from inside the house that  demonstrates the damage Rushford had managed to do in a short period before he was caught.  The damage is estimated at 1000s of dollars.

A police source said that the burglar lives on 59th street in Borough Park and has no criminal record with the NYPD.

Photo credit: Yitzi Engel

An 86-year-old Jewish woman is in serious condition after being stuck by an FDNY truck shortly before 1:30 pm on Friday, NYPD told JP.

The woman was crossing the street at Coney Island and avenue M when she was struck by FDNY L 156 truck. Witnesses called Hatzolah.

Paramedics, who were dispatched to the scene, transported her to Lutheran Medical Center with serious injuries.

NYPD Collision Investigation Squad (CIS) responded to the scene and closed the street to traffic while conducting an investigation. It is still unclear whether the fire truck was on the way responding to a call or on the way back.

Photo credit: Yitzi Engel

The NYPD is on the hunt after a man who was caught on surveillance video breaking into a Williamsburg Shormim member’s vehicle and stealing some about 5,000 dollars, police told JP.

The incident happened Saturday night, at around 9:00 pm, when the vehicle was parked outside 208 Lee avenue. A man warning a red jacket and blue jeans is seen on the camera, obtained by JP, breaking into the car through the front passenger side door. After 15 seconds, he is seen exiting the car and running down Lee avenue.

The victim, a well known figure in the community, noticed the break-in a short while after and the valuable items missing. He alerted Williamsburg Shormim and police and filed a police report.

Police sources said the man took some $5,000, credit cards, and other valuable items.

Detectives are currently reviewing surveillance video and urging anyone who has any information about the incident to call crime stoppers at 1800-577-TIPS.

A 38-year-old woman was arrested Saturday night by NY/NJ Port Authority Poilce, following a car chase that ended with crashing into an SUV driven by a law enforcement chaplain, JP has learned.

Joel Gold, a law enforcement chaplain, was driving with his family in the car on the upper level of the George Washington Bridge East bound at around 9:50p.m., when a car speeding crashed into his car. The driver lost control and crashed into the divider.

Luckily, no one was seriously hurt.

Joseph Pentangelo, a spokesman for the Port Authority, told JP it all started when cops spotted Shayvonne Jenkins, 38, from New Jersey, at Fort Lee, attempting to stop her for outstanding warrants.

Jenkins refused to stop and started speeding on the upper level of the bridge towards New York. After she crashed into Gold’s SUV, she stried escaping by foot. The cops then stopped her and took her into custody.

Jenkins is facing multiple charges including resisting arrest, multiple traffic violations, charges for her outstanding NJ warrants and eluding arrest.

A four-alarm fire that started Monday evening in Camp Shira in Monticello, New York, left several bunkhouses and bungalows completely burned down and three firefighters injured, law enforcement sources told JP.

The Monticello Fire Department responded to a call reporting a house on fire on Norris Avenue in Camp Shira Monday evening around 7:00 PM. The first firefighters to arrive requested additional fir fighters to come out and help control the fast-moving fire.

Subsequently, at around 12:30 AM, the fire department requested the deployment of more area firefighters to provide further assistance in stemming the blazing four-alarm fire.

According to sources within the New York State Police, the fire was moving faster than normal because of strong winds last night in upstate New York.

All of the bungalows and bunk houses on fire were burnt down to the ground. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries.

Earlier this morning, the Monticello Fire Department responded again to the scene after the fire started again. The firefighters were able to get it under control a short time later.

The Monticello Fire Department, along with NYSP investigators, are currently out at the scene investigating in an attempt to determine the cause of the devastating fire.

UPDATE: The NYSP have ruled out arson or criminality as the cause of the fire.

A fire that started in a Sukkah and caught onto a nearby home in New Square, on Tuesday, was extinguished with no injuries reported.

Ramapo Police responded to a report of a fire at 29 Lincoln Ave in the Village of New Square, at around 4:30 pm. Upon arrival officers observed a New Square Emergency Service group and Hillcrest FD extinguishing a fire on a deck that connects 27 and 29 Lincoln Avenue.

The fire started on a Sukkah built on the deck, after the homeowner attempted to burn a bee hive inside the Sukkah. The fire caught on to the homes. The fire was extinguished and no injuries were reported.

Power to the home was turned off by O&R and the residents were advised not to return to the home until it was made safe.

The Rockland County Sheriff BCI Unit and Ramapo Detectives are investigating.

A two-alarm fire broke out in a Far Rockaway Jewish residence Wednesday morning, causing damage to the structure and injuring five firefighters, an FDNY spokesman told JP.

Firefighters went to 28-18 Mott avenue after a report of a fire that broke out at 12:34pm, fire officials said. RCSP member who arrived first at the scene quickly removed all the residents inside the house. No one was injured.

However, five firefighters were transported to South Nassau community Medical Center with minor injuries, after they fought to get the fire under control for over an hour. The fire was under control at 1:41pm, the spokesman said.

Fire marshals are currently at the scene investigating the cause of the fire. Witnesses said the fire seemed to have caught up from a fire that started in the kitchen.

Three men who were caught in the act by NYPD removing rims and tires from a vehicle in Queens were arrested last week. Detectives believe the suspects were responsible for stealing tires from numerous vehicles in Williamsburg over the past few months.

Officers from the 109th Pct. in Queens who were out on patrol this past Wednesday saw three young men taking rims and tires off of a 2012 Honda Accord that was parked at 21st Avenue and Parsons Boulevard.

Approaching the open criminal activity, the police officers discovered the criminals’ arsenal of tools and the getaway vehicle they were prepared to take off in. The three men were taken into custody without any incident.

Interviews with the suspects enabled the officers to learn that the three reside in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, where there has been a sharp increase in incidents of stolen tires. The three men were identified as 22-year-old Robert Velez, 22-year- old Brian Heranade and 21-year-old Ariel Santiago.

Despite thoroughly questioning the suspects about the incidents in Willamsburg, none of the three – who have long criminal rap sheets with the NYPD – were willing to cooperate, sources said.

Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation said that they believe these are the same suspects who are wanted by authorities for the tire thefts in Williamsburg. However, the three men were only charged for the Queens incident, as there is no proof at this time that they committed the other tire thefts.

The police charged all three with grand larceny, criminal possession of burglars’ tools, unauthorized use of a vehicle, auto stripping, and criminal possession of stolen property.

Two serial criminals were arrested once again by the NYPD after they were caught breaking into multiple vehicles early Sunday morning.

Sean Ryan, 29 years old, started his break-in spree shortly before 4:00 am by breaking into a vehicle parked at 1373 47the street in Borough Park. He was watched and followed by Borough Park Shomrim members. He then walked to 1421 53rd street where he broke into a second vehicle and took off with a GPS, MP3 Player and some cash.

After a short chase by Shormim members and Police, Ryan was arrested and charged with petit larceny, unauthorized use of a vehicle; criminal possession of stolen property and criminal possession of burglar’s tools.

Police sources said Ryan has a two dozen prior arrest history with the NYPD, including a recent arrest after he broke into the car owned by Barry Spitzer, the District Manager of Community Board 12 back in May.

The second guy arrested is Luis Franco, 20 years old, who also broke into two vehicles and unluckily leaving his ID and cell phone in one of the burglarized vehicles

Franco started his round at around 5:00 am, in which he broke into a vehicle that was parked at 1678 47th street and into a second vehicle parked in 14the Avenue and 42nd street area. He left there his wallet and cell phone.

He has 5 prior arrests with the NYPD and was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Police sources said its doesn’t appear the two worked together.

Two teenagers were arrested Monday night in the village of Kiryas Joel after the New York State Police discovered a large amount of drugs in their vehicle during a routine traffic stop, a Police source told JP.

The 2 teenagers, whom one of them was identified as Lucas Kolakowski, 20 years old, from Highland Mills, NY, were driving on Acres road when they were stopped by cops for conducting a traffic violation, cops said. The identity of the second boy is being withheld since he is under the age of 18.

During a search, cops discovered a large amount of drugs in the vehicle. Cops told the two to exit the vehicle and were taken into custody, where they were later released to their parents along with a date to appear in court.

A former NYPD Jewish liaison was arrested on Thursday and is being held at the 66 precinct, sources told JP.

Shulem “Sol” Lipschitz, 37 years old, a community affairs Jewish representative at the 62nd precinct in Brooklyn, was arrested at around 3:00pm on Thursday in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, and was charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property,

Lipschitz was wanted for a felony crime after he allegedly stole a personal blank check, made it out for $2,300 and later cashed it at a Brooklyn check cashing on September 29th, 2014.

Detectives obtained a search warrant on him after learning of the incident. He was searched at multiple locations for the last few days, including his home in Flatbush, Police sources said.

Lipschitz was spotted by detectives of the 66th precinct on Thursday. He is currently being interviewed and may face more criminal charges, the sources said.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police Commissioner William Bratton says the hatchet attack on four rookie officers was a terrorist act by a homegrown radical.

Bratton said Friday the suspect, Zale Thompson, was a Muslim convert who ranted online against America, but had no clear ties to international terrorism. He believes Thompson was self-radicalized.

Thompson was killed by police. One officer is hospitalized with a head wound.

Bratton says investigators are trying to determine whether the attack was planned.

Police are examining Thompson’s computer for clues. Bratton says investigators found that Thompson browsed for organized terror groups, as well as beheadings and the shooting in Canada earlier this week.

Authorities also are trying to determine if Thompson had any history of mental illness. But Bratton says he is comfortable calling it a “terrorist attack.”

A 45-year-old bandit, who was wanted for breaking into a Hatzloah paramedic’s vehicle on Simchas Torah, has been arrested on Friday, authorities said.

The suspect, identified as Jerome Cowan, broke into a  vehicle In Far Rockway on Simchas Torah while the paramedic’s vehicle was parked outside the location he responded to for a medical call.

Cowan didn’t manage to steal any equipment from the vehicle. He left equipment that he had stolen a short time before from other vehicles.

After Yom Tov, Far Rockway CitIzens Safety Portal obtained a clear picture of the suspect, and asked their members to be on the lookout for this guy.

On Friday afternoon, one of the RCSP members saw Cowan walking on Dix Avenue in Far Rockway. They immediately notified NYPD, who responded to the scene and arrested him.

Cowan was charged with petit larceny. He has a history of over 30 prior arrests, a police source said.

An elderly man is in serious condition, after being struck by a vehicle a short while ago at the 16th Avenue and 51st Street intersection in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn. The man is said to be in his eighties.

Witnesses who were at the scene told JP that the man attempted to cross the intersection when he was struck by the vehicle. After fleeing the scene, the driver headed to the NYPD’s 66 pct. where he turned himself in and is currently being interviewed.

Hatzolah responded to a call of a pedestrian struck at 7:45 p.m. and found the old man on the side of the road severely injured. Hatzolah paramedics treated the man at the scene and transported him to Lutheran Medical Center with head trauma.  

The NYPD is currently at the scene investigating the incident.