- The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council (JPAC) said on Saturday that at least five people had been stabbed at a house close to a synagogue in Monsey, a town of 18,000 residents which is located 30 miles north of New York City.
- The five victims, all of them Jewish, were hospitalised with stab wounds, according to JPAC.
- Two of them were rushed to Westchester Medical's trauma centre with serious injuries, media reports said, adding that one victim had been stabbed at least six times.
- Police are still in the dark about the motive for the stabbing amid reports that the suspect, said to be a black male, having been arrested and taken into custody in New York City's 32nd Precinct.
- He was reportedly wearing a scarf and armed with a machete during the attack that took place during a Hanukkah celebration at Rabbi Rottenberg's Shul.
- New York Attorney General Letitia James said that she was “deeply disturbed” by the Monsey stabbing.
- “There is zero tolerance for acts of hate of any kind and we will continue to monitor this horrific situation”, she underscored.
- James was echoed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who tweeted that he was “horrified by the stabbing of multiple people at a synagogue in Rockland County tonight”.
- He pledged to “hold the attacker accountable to the fullest extent of the law”.
- The NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau said that they are also keeping an eye on the situation.
- The Jewish organisation, Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey stated, in turn, that they are sending their representatives to the scene.