Woman busted in NYC rabbi syringe attack allegedly stabbed another Jewish man hours earlier: report
Woman busted in NYC rabbi syringe attack allegedly stabbed another Jewish man hours earlier: report
A Brooklyn woman accused of stalking a rabbi before stabbing him with a syringe in Manhattans Diamond District allegedly attacked another man just two hours earlier, police said.
Anna Mochalova, 32, was arrested Saturday evening and charged with eight counts each of assault and menacing, along with two counts each of aggravated harassment and criminal possession of a weapon, police confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Manhattan Shomrim Safety Patrol credited its volunteers, the NYPDs Hate Crimes Task Force, Shomrim groups in Crown Heights and Queens, and tips from the public with helping secure the arrest.
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"The suspect wanted for Wednesdays two hate crime assaults in Midtown Manhattan is now in custody," the group wrote on X.
The arrest followed a public appeal from Manhattan Shomrim seeking witnesses and security camera, dashcam or cellphone video from the Diamond District.
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The first attack was reported at about 5:50 p.m. Wednesday at West 45th Street and Avenue of the Americas, according to police.
A 37-year-old man told officers a person deliberately collided with him. When he confronted the person, he was struck in the forearm with a sharp object, suffering a laceration, police said.
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The attacker fled on foot, and the victim declined medical attention at the scene.
About two hours later, police responded to a reported stabbing outside 15 West 47th Street. A 26-year-old man had been approached and stabbed in the back with an unknown sharp object, authorities said.
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He was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
The New York Post identified the second victim as a rabbi and reported that the attacker used a syringe. Police did not specify in their statement to Fox News Digital whether a syringe was used or what it may have contained.
Surveillance video shared by Manhattan Shomrim shows the suspected attacker following the rabbi around a parked car as he tries to avoid her before the stabbing, according to the Post.
The rabbi told the outlet he believes his appearance made him a target.
