A 35-year-old woman was charged with four hate crimes and a series of additional offenses after allegedly attacking an Orthodox Jewish father in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood while shouting antisemitic threats at him and his family. The incident occurred on Friday night at approximately 11:20 p.m., when the father was walking with his wife and their four young children, ranging in age from six months to six years.
According to the indictment and police reports, the suspect, Ishaara Summers, began following the family while shouting statements such as "I'm going to kill all the Jews," "I will strangle your children," and "Tonight your children die." After a foot chase that lasted several minutes, the suspect attacked the father and struck him in the head and chest, causing pain and swelling.
The 26-year-old father told local media outlets that he initially tried to ignore the shouting, but the threats intensified as the woman approached him and his children. He said that at one point, he felt genuine danger to his family's safety and decided to confront her verbally to distance her. Shortly afterward, he was struck. "When she said she was going to strangle my children, I was genuinely afraid," he said.
The family, which belongs to the Orthodox community, made their way back home during Shabbat. Police forces were called to the scene, and the suspect was arrested shortly after the attack. The New York Police Department stated that she was charged with assault, attempted assault, aggravated harassment, making threats, endangering the welfare of a minor, and four counts of hate crimes.
At a hearing in Brooklyn Criminal Court, Summers denied all charges against her. The prosecution requested that she be held on $50,000 bail, but the judge ordered her release under restrictive conditions without financial bail.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez's office stated, "This is a shocking attack against a Jewish family walking home. Every person in this city should be able to practice their faith safely, and this kind of antisemitic violence will not be tolerated in Brooklyn. The defendant is charged with hate crimes, and we will pursue full accountability."
The incident joins a series of cases of antisemitic violence and threats in New York. According to recent data released by the city's police department, Jews were the target of more than half of the reported hate crimes in the city in 2025, more than all other groups combined.
