Brooklyn, NY – A Muslim teen is being hailed as a hero today after chasing down a man who struck an Orthodox Jewish woman in the face as she traveled on a southbound Q train.
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The incident took place last night just before 8 PM. Police said that 31 year old Rayvon Jones, a passenger on the train, struck a fellow passenger in the face with a closed fist as she sat on the train. The two did not appear to know each other, and the woman suffered lacerations and bruises to her face.
Q train passenger 19 year old Ahmed Khalifa witnessed the entire attack. He said that the incident occurred without provocation and decided to act after seeing the woman’s face bleeding.
“I felt bad for her,” Khalifa told VIN News. “She was innocent. She did nothing wrong.”
Jones got off the train at the Newkirk Avenue station, with Khalifa hot on his heels, According to Khalifa, a Jewish man driving by saw the chase and offered to help. Khalifa jumped into his car and the two searched for Jones, who they spied several blocks ahead waiting at a bus stop.
The pair called both police and Shomrim, with Shomrim arriving on scene within minutes.
“They came so quick, about ten of them,” said Khalifa. “It was amazing.”
The group followed the B68 bus waiting for police to arrive to take action.
“I knocked on the glass door and the guy looked at me and tried to cover up, act like he was innocent, and like that wasn’t him,” said Khalifa. “But then he started getting all aggressive so they got everyone off the bus.”
Police arrested Jones and charged him with assault and violation. Police said they could not say if Jones had a record of any prior arrests.
Khalifa said that Jones became violent after being put in a police cruiser, damaging two of the car’s door and threatening the men responsible for his arrest.
“He said, ‘I’m coming after all of you,’ saying horrible stuff,” said Khalifa who noted it looked to him like Jones may have been under the influence of an illegal substance at the time of the assault.
Tuesday’s incident was not the first time that Khalifa intervened in an incident involving a Jewish victim. Khalifa said that he once witnessed a group of young men assaulting an Orthodox Jewish young man in Kensington, hoping to steal his bicycle.
“I stepped in and started yelling at them,” said Khalifa.
The would-be bike thieves fled the scene, reported Khalifa who said that to the best of his knowledge no charges were ever filed in the case.
Hailed as a hero on social media, Khalifa shrugged off the notion that he had done anything out of the ordinary.
“I mean, it feels good, but it’s something everyone should be doing,” said Khalifa. “It’s not as big a deal as people think it is. It’s an action that we should be doing every day. I believe that Muslims and Jewish people should get along, because everything you hear on social media, it’s not real. I believe we are all distant cousins and we should love each other.”
Great job! Hope his community is equally as proud of him. Also, thanks to Shomrim for arriving quickly
Maybe this is a lesson not do what the4 Nazis did to the Yidden and some Muslims do now . Don’t opaint all witth a broad brush
I hope that the frum community, especially her family, honors him in some way. seeking justice for this poor woman was in his best interest, and that makes him a well raised young man. going above and beyond a call of duty makes him an ideal candidate for an honor.
with that said, no mention of a hate crime, but if that animal was beaten by a shomrim member, rikers would be waiting for him
why are we not demanding that this animal gets what he deserves??
i hope our responsible community leaders will take the opportunity and make a big Kiddush Hashem by making a big deal out of this Hero, perhaps to take him and his family out for a lunch with the presence of the media and hand him an official gift from the jewish community as Hakarot Hatov !
The man deserves a medal.