Jewish Families In Williamsburg Fearful After 2 Separate Attacks On Young Boys
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two attacks within days of each other have parents in Williamsburg worried about the safety of their children.
As CBS 2's Dick Brennan reported, two Jewish boys were the victims, and while police said there is no indication of a hate crime, residents remain fearful.
The first attack was caught on tape. A gang of kids hit a 16-year-old in the hand with a baseball bat. The group then scattered.
It happened last Wednesday at the intersection of Wallabout Street and Throop Avenue.
The group also tossed a rock through a window at a construction site, Brennan reported.
The second incident happened two days later, just around the corner on Union Street.
A 9-year-old Jewish boy was riding his bike when someone threw a rock that hit him in the head.
Police said they have no indication of a hate crime, but an attack that happened on the exact same block five years ago sounded eerily similar, Brennan reported.
On Thanksgiving of 2009, Hasidic teacher Joel Weinberger was badly beaten. Two teens were charged with a hate crime, but Weinberger couldn't identify them, and they walked.
Residents say bias incident or not, they want the attackers caught.
"It doesn't make me more angry when it's done to a Hasidic child or to somebody else. What we want is safe neighborhood, doesn't matter if he's Jewish or non-Jewish," said Shloime Lictma.
Police said nothing was said to the boys during the attacks, and that the investigations are ongoing.
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