Authorities in New York City arrested a man Wednesday night after a car repeatedly crashed into the rear entrance of the Brooklyn headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
No injuries were reported in the incident, which was being investigated as a hate crime, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a press conference.
Video of the incident posted online by Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a public relations liaison for Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters, shows a car driving into the rear entrance of the building three times, breaking one of its wooden doors, as some members of the crowd yell in protest, and others call for police to be notified.
Tisch told reporters the incident occurred at about 8:46 p.m. EST.
Officers were alerted to the crash by a commotion at the rear of the building in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, she said, adding that they observed the vehicle strike the rear door, reverse and strike the door again.
The officers ordered the driver to exit the vehicle and arrested him, she said.
The NYPD bomb squad was deployed to the scene and the car was cleared.
The suspect has not been identified.
Behrman said in a statement that witnesses reported the driver yelling for people to move out of his way.
“It appears intentional,” he said. “The synagogue has been evacuated as a precaution.”
Watch as @nypdpc and @nycmayor provide an update on an ongoing investigation in Brooklyn. https://t.co/b60lYfP2mc— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) January 29, 2026
Chabad-Lubavitch is a branch of Hasidic Judaism that was founded in the late 1700s. Its Brooklyn building at 770 Eastern Parkway is the global headquarters of the movement, according to its website.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters that the incident was “deeply alarming given the deep meaning and the history of the institution to so many in New York and around the world.”
“Any threat to a Jewish institution or place of worship must be taken seriously,” he said. “Anti-Semitism has no place in our city and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable.”
Wednesday was a Chabad-Lubavitch holiday.
“770 is the spiritual home of @Chabad and its significance cannot be overstated,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the U.S. civil-rights organization Anti-Defamation League, said on X.
“Thankfully, there appear to be no injuries, and while motive cannot yet be confirmed, this incident contributes even further to a collective sense of anxiety for Jewish New Yorkers and Jews worldwide.”
Tisch said that “out of an abundance of caution” the NYPD’s presence around places of worship in the five boroughs would be significantly increased and that specialized patrols, counter-terrorism resources and bomb squad personnel would be deployed where appropriate.
