Man Charged in Bronx Synagogue Attacks

May 2, 2021 Kevin Deutsch Bronx, Crime, Hate 0

Police on Saturday arrested the man they say carried out six antisemitic attacks at four Riverdale Jewish centers and synagogues last weekend.

Jordan Brunette, 29, is facing multiple charges including burglary as a hate crime. Neither he nor his attorney could immediately be reached for comment Sunday.

Officers spotted Brunette around 3 a.m., riding a bicycle against traffic near West 246th Street and Delafield Avenue in Riverdale.

They stopped him to write a traffic ticket and recognized him from surveillance video taken outside the Jewish centers, authorities said.

The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force spent a week probing the six antisemitic incidents targeting the Riverdale Jewish Center, Chabad of Riverside, Young Israel of Riverdale and the Adath Israel conservative synagogue.

Stones were hurled through windows of the four properties during six separate incidents spanning last Friday and Saturday.

About Kevin Deutsch 265 Articles

Kevin Deutsch is a Staff Writer for Bronx Justice News covering the criminal justice system, drugs, and DNA use by law enforcement. An award-winning journalist, Deutsch is the author of the true crime books "Pill City" and "The Triangle." He has worked on staff at the Daily News, Miami Herald, Newsday, The Palm Beach Post, and The Riverdale Press. His work has also appeared in Newsweek, Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Forward, The Independent, Huffington Post, Orlando Sentinel, and the New York Post, among other publications. His numerous television appearances include spots on CNN, MSNBC, and C-SPAN's BookTV. He has also been featured in The New Yorker. A Bronx resident, Deutsch hosts the true crime podcast "A Dark Turn" on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network.