Brooklyn, NY – Two days after an unidentified man threatened to shoot both a crossing guard and others at a Crown Heights school for Jewish girls, the NYPD is turning to the public for help in identifying and apprehending the suspect.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Police said that the incident took place at approximately 3:40 PM on January 23rd near the Beth Rivkah Campus Chomesh, located at 470 Lefferts Avenue. The crossing guard, a 55 year old black man, was helping the elementary school girls cross at the intersection of Brooklyn and Lefferts Avenues, when a man driving a gold Cadillac Escalade stopped and blocked the crosswalk.
According to police, the crossing guard asked the driver of the Escalade to move his vehicle. The driver responded by flashing a gun and asking the guard why he was helping Jewish girls threatening to shoot both him and others.
The driver, who left the scene heading southbound on Brooklyn Avenue, is described as a black man between 40 and 50 years old.
Beth Rivkah administrator Rabbi Bentzion Stock said the incident took place during dismissal, with girls ranging in age from four to 13 years old leaving the school at that time.
Rabbi Stock said that he is grateful to the city for instituting a program this year that supplied the school with three security guards and expressed his appreciation to the NYPD which has stepped up police presence around Beth Rivkah since Monday.
“Community Affairs and the 71st Precinct are both on top of the situation, calling to make sure that extra officers are in place and going out of their way to make sure that the school, the students and their families are safe,” Rabbi Stock told VIN News.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline by phone at 800-577-TIPS, by text at 247637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577 or online at www.NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.