Car crash into headquarters of Chabad Lubavitch movement in NYC is investigated as hate crime

Police have opened a hate crime investigation after a car crashed into the world headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement in New York on Wednesday evening.

There were no injuries in the crash, which occurred around 8:46 p.m. at an apartment building in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, police said.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said officers were stationed at the building when they heard a commotion at the building’s main entrance.

“When they responded, they saw a vehicle hit the back door, reverse and hit the back door again,” Tisch said at a news conference Wednesday evening.

Officers immediately ordered the driver out of the vehicle and arrested him, she said. His name was not immediately released.

Chabad-Lubavitch is an Orthodox Hasidic Jewish organization. Its building in New York attracts thousands of visitors each year, including international students and religious leaders, according to the Associated Press.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the incident and called it “deeply alarming.”

“Anti-Semitism has no place in our city, and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable,” he said.

The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey said it was “deeply troubled” by reports of the incident and thanked law enforcement for their response.

“This building is not only a synagogue, but also the global headquarters of Chabad.org and a beloved symbol of Judaism around the world,” the group said on social media.

The incident is being investigated as a hate crime by the NYPD’s hate crimes unit, Tisch said.

The incident occurred during a major Chabad holiday, Yud Shevat. It commemorates the leadership of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, who was the sixth Rebbe, or teacher, of the Lubavitch movement, and marks the anniversary of his death in 1950.

Tisch said that, out of an abundance of caution, police would increase security at places of worship in the city.

The police bomb squad was called and inspected the vehicle, but nothing was found, Tisch said. She also said she was not aware of any reports that weapons had been recovered.

“We are still at the very beginning of this investigation,” she said.

Chabad-Lubavitch is a movement born 250 years ago in Russia. It has 3,500 institutions worldwide, spread across 100 countries or other territories, it says on its website.