Man charged with hate crimes after disrupting service at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue

By Karina Tsui, Rebekah Riess, CNN

(CNN) — A man has been arrested and charged with multiple hate crimes after disrupting Shabbat services and injuring a woman at Central Synagogue in Manhattan Friday night, New York police said.

The man, identified as 46-year-old Larry Montes from The Bronx, also “damaged synagogue property,” and spat at and headbutted a member of the synagogue’s security team as he was escorted out of the building, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on X.

Congregants scrambled as shouts of panic erupted, according to a clip from the synagogue’s livestream obtained by CNN affiliate WCBS. A security guard restrained the man as he barreled down the aisle.

A 63-year-old woman suffered a small cut to her lip and injuries to her right forearm after being struck by the man, an NYPD spokesperson told CNN.

“He was screaming and yelling. I heard a loud pop … We thought it was a gun,” Susan Roane, who was at the service, told WCBS.

Congregant Arlynn Greenbaum told WCBS she saw the suspect wasn’t armed, but still wanted to take cover.

“He was just ranting and raving and yelling,” she said. “He was very full of hate.”

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has had a tense relationship with some members of the city’s Jewish community over his fierce criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, was quick to condemn the attack.

“This despicable act has no place in our city, and our administration will do everything in our power to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe,” he said on X on Friday night. He added that New Yorkers must be able to observe their religion without fear of violence.

Montes has been charged with “two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime, along with other charges,” Tisch said.

“I have spoken with the rabbi of the synagogue, and I’m relieved that no one was seriously injured. Those who were hurt were evaluated at the scene and are doing well,” Tisch said.

In a statement posted on Facebook hours after the attack, Central Synagogue said it was grateful for the outpouring of support after Friday’s “disturbing events.”

“We will keep on gathering for joyful, meaningful Judaism with our Central family every week,” the temple wrote.

While the precise motivation for Friday’s attack remains unclear, it comes amid a rise in reports of antisemitic assaults on American soil. Just last year, the US reached a record high of such attacks, including its first fatality since 2022, according to a report published by the Anti-Defamation League.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemned what he said was an antisemitic attack, in a post directly criticizing the city’s leader.

“This is another chilling reminder that anti-Semitism does not belong in the past, it’s occurring here and now, in the heart of New York,” he wrote on X.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the attack “appalling.”

“Jewish New Yorkers have every right to worship openly, proudly, and without fear,” she wrote on X.

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CNN’s Tina Burnside contributed to this report.