Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on December 10, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- It should have been a peaceful, contemplative night for Levi Rosenblat, studying the Torah inside a Brooklyn synagogue.

But that peace was shattered when an intruder came into the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters, stabbing Rosenblat on the left side of his head.

There would be no other victims, however. New York police officers quickly arrived at the scene and -- after a verbal back-and-forth captured on video -- shot and killed the attacker.

Tuesday night, Rosenblat -- a 22-year-old student from Israel -- was in serious but stable condition at Bellevue Hospital Center.

And authorities were trying to piece together what happened and why.

At a brief news conference Tuesday, the NYPD's John Miller described what happened as an "isolated incident" carried out by a 49-year-old man well known to police.

"At this point, (this) appears to involve an individual who ... has a history of being an emotionally disturbed person and acting out in other places," Miller said.

The suspect had 19 prior arrests and had been hospitalized at least four previous times for psychological issues, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told reporters Tuesday evening.

Jews in the United States and elsewhere -- including Israel, the site of several recent stabbings -- have been targeted before. Noting that at least one witness heard an "anti-Jewish comment," New York police Commissioner William Bratton said that his department's hate crimes unit is investigating.

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Police kill man after stabbing at synagogue

Category: Synagogue
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