Over 100 tires slashed in Orthodox Jewish community, police say

ByMORGAN WINSOR ABCNews logo
Monday, August 12, 2019

More than 100 tires have been slashed in a predominately Orthodox Jewish community in New Jersey in recent days, according to authorities there.

All of the vehicles targeted in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, were owned or driven by Jewish people. The incidents are being investigated as bias crimes, police told ABC New York City station WABC.

The most recent tire slashings occurred outside homes over the weekend, police told WABC. The New Jersey town is home to one of the world's largest yeshivas.

Elsewhere in the tri-state area, police are investigating a trio of attempted robberies targeting Orthodox Jewish men in New York City's Brooklyn borough early Monday morning. The separate incidents happened around the same neighborhood within a span of 40 minutes, beginning at 5 a.m. local time.

The victims were a 71-year-old man, a 67-year-old man and a 56-year-old man. In each incident, the victim was approached by a group of three young men who came up from behind and punched them in the face, went through their pockets and then fled with nothing, according to police.

Two of the victims were transported to a local hospital for their injuries, while the third refused treatment, police said.

No arrests have been made yet. Investigators are looking into whether the incidents were hate crimes, according to police.

ABC News' Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

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