A Brooklyn man allegedly attacked two strangers within minutes of each other on a Wednesday night, leaving a 66-year-old rabbi bleeding on his own doorstep.
Story Snapshot
- Eric Avrutov, 31, faces charges after allegedly punching a rabbi and a gas station customer minutes apart in Brooklyn.
- Police say the rabbi attack lasted about 20 seconds and was caught on video by a local safety patrol.
- The rabbi, 66, was taken to Maimonides Medical Center and is listed in stable condition.
- Police say the case is not being treated as a hate crime at this time.
What Happened On Dahill Road
Police say Avrutov cornered the 66-year-old rabbi near Dahill Road and Cortelyou Road in the Kensington and Borough Park area around 9:20 p.m. He allegedly struck the rabbi several times without warning. The attack lasted roughly 20 seconds, according to reports, and left the rabbi hurt badly enough to need hospital care.
Video of the assault came from Boro Park Shomrim, a neighborhood safety patrol that watches over the largely Orthodox Jewish community. Their footage showed Avrutov striking the rabbi before fleeing the scene. Community patrol groups like Shomrim often become the first source of visual proof in cases like this, well before police release their own evidence.
A Second Victim Just Minutes Earlier
Police say the rabbi was not the only person Avrutov allegedly hit that night. About five minutes before the Dahill Road attack, he allegedly punched a 60-year-old man who was simply pumping gas at a nearby station. That victim was hit with a separate assault and harassment charge tied to the same suspect.
The rabbi was rushed to Maimonides Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition. Avrutov was arrested and charged with assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, and harassment. Reports say he had five prior arrests, including one just two days before this attack.
Why Police Say This Isn’t A Hate Crime Yet
Investigators told reporters the rabbi assault is “not being investigated as a hate crime at this time.” That wording matters. It is a snapshot of where the case stands right now, not a final ruling. New York hate crime law requires proof that a victim was targeted because of religion, race, or another protected trait, and that kind of proof often takes time to establish.
One brief caveat worth noting: police classifications made in the hours after an arrest can shift as more evidence comes in, including witness statements or messages that were not part of the earliest reports.
Brooklyn’s Bigger Pattern Of Anti-Jewish Violence
This attack lands in a borough already flagged for a troubling trend. The Anti-Defamation League reported that Brooklyn saw 50 antisemitic assaults in 2025, a 56 percent jump from the year before, making it the top hotspot in New York State for this kind of violence. Orthodox Jews, identifiable by their dress, were the targets in a large share of those cases across the state.
New York City as a whole logged a rise in antisemitic assaults even as harassment and vandalism reports dropped, according to a separate audit. Manhattan recorded the most total incidents, but assaults specifically climbed by 10 percent citywide, nearly tripling in some measures compared to prior years. That backdrop does not prove motive in any single case, but it explains why attacks on visibly Jewish New Yorkers draw fast, intense scrutiny.
Eric Avrutov, 31, allegedly cornered the 66-year-old religious leader without warning and dealt multiple blows on Dahill Road near Cortelyou Road in Kensington around 9:20 p.m.
He was charged with assault, criminal obstruction of breathing and harassment.
The act is not being… https://t.co/nlkJNvZ8zu
— Crime In NYC (@Crime_In_NYC) September 25, 2026
What Comes Next For The Case
Avrutov now faces prosecution on the assault, obstruction of breathing, and harassment charges tied to the rabbi attack, plus a separate charge from the gas station incident. His criminal history, including an alleged similar assault just two days earlier, will likely factor into how prosecutors and a judge handle bail and sentencing decisions going forward.
For the Orthodox community in Kensington and Borough Park, the attack adds to a growing list of street-level assaults that residents say make them feel unsafe simply walking home. Whether prosecutors eventually add a hate crime enhancement will depend on evidence not yet public, but the underlying violence against two strangers in one night is already established fact.
Sources:
nypost.com, nydailynews.com, israelnationalnews.com
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