A man stabbed five people as they gathered to celebrate Hanukkah at a rabbi's home in an Orthodox Jewish community north of New York City, an ambush the governor said Sunday was an act of domestic terrorism fueled by intolerance and a "cancer" of hatred growing in America.
Police arrested a suspect in Manhattan within hours of Saturday night's attack in Monsey.
Grafton E Thomas, 37, had blood all over his clothing and smelled of bleach, according to prosecutors. He was arraigned Sunday morning and pleaded not guilty.
Bail was set at USD 5 million.
The stabbings on the seventh night of Hanukkah left one person critically wounded, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The rabbi's son was also injured, he said. Authorities have not provided a motive.
The attack was the latest in a string of violence targeting Jews in the region, including a December 10 massacre at a kosher grocery store in New Jersey. Last month in Monsey, a man was stabbed while walking to a synagogue.
Cuomo said Saturday's savagery was the 13th anti-Semitic attack in New York since December 8 and endemic of "an American cancer on the body politic."
"Let's call it what it is."
"He started attacking people right away as soon as he came in the door. We didn't have time to react at all."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Twitter that she was "
deeply disturbed by the stabbing in Monsey and the many recent anti-Semitic attacks in the NY metro area, especially during this holiday season. We must condemn and confront anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry and hate wherever & whenever we see them."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content