Bronx man faces 14 charges, including assault and six hate crimes, for attack on congregant, guard at Central Synagogue Shabbat service

Officers arrested Larry Montes, 46, of the Bronx, on Friday night and charged him with 14 charges, including six hate crimes, after he allegedly hit a 63-year-old woman and spat upon and heat-butted a 65-year-old security guard at Central Synagogue in Manhattan on Friday night, the New York City Police Department told JNS.

The incident took place shortly after 6 p.m. during Shabbat services, and officers were told that the suspect “began acting irate and disrupted a service,” the NYPD said.

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“As security was escorting the male out, he struck a 63-year-old female, causing a small laceration and pain to her lip and right forearm,” the department told JNS. “Additionally, the male spit on and head butted a 65-year-old security guard.”

The department’s hate crime task force is investigating the incident, and the man was charged with four counts of hate crime assault, two counts of assault, criminal mischief as a hate crime, criminal mischief, disrupting a religious service, criminal trespass as a hate crime, two counts of aggravated harassment and two counts of harassment, the NYPD told JNS.

Central Synagogue, a Reform congregation, stated that it was grateful to the many who “have reached out in support after the disturbing events during services.”

“Tonight at Shabbat services, a disturbed man stormed our bimah,” or dais, and “knocked over our Shabbat candles, screamed obscenities and assaulted a congregant,” the synagogue said. “In the face of this antisemitic hate, our security director heroically restrained and escorted the man out.”

The synagogue added that the cantor and musicians “did not let this stop the music.”

“Our rabbis reignited the candles, helped us breathe and found the words to respond to the moment in real time,” it said. “Our congregation refused to let hate extinguish our Shabbat light.”

‘Place of worship should never be a crime scene’

Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the NYPD, stated that an NYPD sergeant, who was working “a paid detail at the synagogue,” took the suspect into custody.

“I have spoken with the rabbi of the synagogue, and I’m relieved that no one was seriously injured,” she stated on Friday night. “Those who were hurt were evaluated at the scene and are doing well. There are no known additional threats at this time, and additional NYPD resources have been deployed to the synagogue.”

“I understand the sanctity of this space and its meaning for congregants,” added Tisch, who is Jewish. “Central Synagogue is where I grew up. In joy and in sorrow, it has always been a place of comfort and peace. What happened there tonight is deeply painful. A place of worship should never be a crime scene.”

Two minutes later, Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, stated that he was “horrified.”

“I can only imagine the pain and fear an attack like this, during Shabbat services, causes for the congregation and for Jewish New Yorkers across our city,” the mayor said. “Every New Yorker must be able to observe their religion without fear of violence. This despicable act has no place in our city, and our administration will do everything in our power to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe.”

Jewish leaders have said that Mamdani’s anti-Israel statements, including accusing the Jewish state of “genocide” and calling for the Israeli prime minister to be arrested, are fueling antisemitic hate. Anti-Jewish hate crimes surged 182% in Mamdani’s first month in office, compared to that span the prior year, and in the months since, anti-Jewish incidents have made up a disproportionate number of the city’s recorded hate crimes.

“We have to make clear than when the boot of antisemitic violence is on your neck, it’s been laced by Zohran Mamdani,” stated Vickie Paladino, a member of the New York City Council, who was riffing on a statement of Mamdani’s that NYPD boots are tied in Israel.

“No one has done more to fan the flames of antisemitism in New York than you,” stated Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch. “The Jewish community warned in July that your anti-Israel hate video put Jewish New Yorkers at risk and made them feel targeted. ‘Shame on you,’ said the UJA. You need to be quiet, resign and begone.”

Julie Menin, speaker of the City Council, stated that she was “deeply disturbed” by the attack.

“Incidents like this are painful and traumatizing for so many, and only deepen the fear many are already feeling,” she stated. “Every New Yorker has the right to worship in peace and safety.”

On Saturday morning, Menin issued a more personal statement.

“From 73 swastikas defacing a Brooklyn playground to a Jewish man stabbed after leaving Tisha B’Av services last month, horrifying acts of antisemitism are soaring in our city,” she wrote. “From Hebrew school to my father’s memorial service, Central Synagogue is where my family and thousands of others worship. It is our sanctuary and a place of solace.”

“Armed guards stand outside on the High Holidays, as we have to explain to our children why they are there. Now, a congregant was assaulted during Shabbat services in an incident that has resulted in hate crime charges,” she stated. “When my mother and grandmother came to New York City after surviving the Holocaust, they were welcomed with open arms. What is happening now in our city is unrecognizable and horrifying.”

She added that “we will not allow hate to divide us or fear to silence us” and “will continue fighting for a city where every New Yorker can live safely and proudly, no matter their faith.”

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, stated that the attack “is not merely disturbing, but it is an assault on the fundamental right of every New Yorker to worship in peace and without fear.”

“Disrupting Shabbat services, assaulting congregants and security personnel, and desecrating the sanctity of a synagogue is reprehensible, particularly at a moment when antisemitism and threats against Jewish New Yorkers have reached alarming levels,” he stated.

On Saturday morning, he also issued a second statement, in which he said that his “deeply grateful” to Tisch and the NYPD.

“Security is necessary, particularly with the High Holidays and U.N. General Assembly approaching, but more armed guards cannot become our sole answer to more hate,” he wrote. “There is something fundamentally wrong with a society in which people need to pass heavily armed security simply to enter a synagogue and pray. That is not normal. We must never accept it as normal.”

“Jewish institutions already devote extraordinary resources to security, and New York remains a major recipient of federal nonprofit security funding precisely because the threat is so serious, but the measure of our success cannot be how many guards we can place outside a house of worship,” he wrote. “It must be whether people can enter one without fear.”

“This is a five-alarm emergency,” he added. “Security can protect a door. Leadership must address why that door needs so much protection in the first place.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the attack “appalling,” and Letitia James, the New York attorney general, said that it was “appalling and unacceptable.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that “antisemitism is real and it’s increasing by the day.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) stated that “just as troubling as the violence itself is the political climate that emboldens it.”

“American politics has become so obsessively antagonistic toward ‘Zionists’ that even a synagogue is seen as fair game for disruption and desecration. No Jewish space is considered sacred enough to be left untouched,” stated Torres, who is one of the most vocal supporters of Israel in Congress. “Antisemitism has risen to historic highs in America’s most Jewish city, with more hate crimes against Jews than against all other communities combined.”

“Instead of cooling tensions, both the far left and the far right keep pouring gasoline on the fires of hate, fear and blame,” he said.

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