A Brooklyn woman has been arrested in connection with two attacks on Jewish men in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, in a case the NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating, police confirmed in a statement reported by Fox News.
Source: Fox News via US Times Mirror
Police said the first attack was reported at about 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday at West 45th Street and Avenue of the Americas. A 37-year-old man told officers a person deliberately collided with him and, when he confronted the person, struck his forearm with a sharp object, leaving a laceration. The attacker fled on foot and the man declined medical attention at the scene, police said.
Source: NYPD via Fox News / SWR News
About two hours later, officers responded to a reported stabbing outside 15 West 47th Street in the Diamond District. A 26-year-old man had been approached and stabbed in the back with an unknown sharp object and was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, authorities said. 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 whether a syringe was used or what it may have contained.
Source: New York Post via Fox News
Surveillance video shared by the Manhattan Shomrim safety patrol appears to show the suspected attacker following the rabbi around a parked car as he tried to avoid her before the stabbing, according to the Post. The rabbi told the outlet he believes his appearance made him a target: 'I never met that person before. She passes by other people. I'm visibly Jewish.' He returned to the area the next day to continue Jewish outreach, the Post reported.
Source: New York Post via Fox News
Police said Anna Mochalova, 32, was arrested on 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. She was awaiting arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court as of Sunday, the Daily News Cycle reported. The charges are allegations and Mochalova is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Source: Daily News Cycle
The attacks come as confirmed hate crimes across New York City rose nearly 13 percent during the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, according to NYPD figures reported by Fox News, with police recording 463 confirmed hate crimes through September, of which 245 were anti-Jewish incidents.
Source: NYPD figures via Fox News