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Police charged a Bronx man with hate crimes after he assaulted a congregant and a security guard during Shabbat services at Central Synagogue in Manhattan on Friday night.
Larry Montes, 46, disrupted the service before being escorted out. He struck a congregant, damaged synagogue property, then spat at and headbutted a guard. An NYPD sergeant on duty at the synagogue immediately took him into custody. He faces 14 charges, including six hate-crime counts.
No one was seriously injured, and police said there were no known additional threats. The NYPD increased its presence at the synagogue following the attack.
“Central Synagogue is where I grew up,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “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.”
Earlier this evening, an individual disrupted Shabbat services at Central Synagogue in Manhattan. As synagogue security was escorting him out, he struck a member of the congregation, damaged synagogue property, and then spit at and headbutted a member of the security team. An…
— Jessica S. Tisch (@NYPDPC) August 15, 2026
Anti-Jewish offenses made up 56.9% of confirmed hate crimes citywide over the first seven months of 2026, though Jews are roughly 10% of New York City’s population. The NYPD recorded 205 anti-Jewish hate crimes during that period.
While Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned Friday’s attack, he entered office by revoking Adams-era measures addressing antisemitism and protections for religious institutions. Among them were the city’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism and Executive Order 61, which had directed the NYPD to evaluate potential restrictions on protests near entrances to houses of worship.
Central Synagogue Senior Rabbi Angela Buchdahl had warned Mamdani in July to stop using rhetoric that “demonizes Jews and the Jewish state and helps create the climate in which threats and violence flourish.”
Central Synagogue on Shabbat today.
This is Jewish life in New York under Mamdani's regime 💔 pic.twitter.com/GbZn8B1g7x
— Rabbi Poupko (@RabbiPoupko) August 16, 2026
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