An Israeli man studying for the rabbinate in New York was stabbed while praying at Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in Brooklyn.
Levi Rosenviat, 22, was stabbed on Dec. 9 in the synagogue of the building located in the Crown Heights neighborhood, according to reports. Rosenviat was reported to be in stable condition at Kings County Hospital early this week, with stab wounds to his neck and elsewhere.
He arrived in New York last month, according to the New York Daily News.
His alleged assailant, Calvin Peters, 51, was shot in the stomach by police and later died in the hospital. He reportedly entered the Chabad building shouting “I will kill the Jew! I want to kill the Jew!” according to the Daily News.
Police and security guards reportedly flooded the building moments after the attack. Police ordered Peters to drop his knife and shot him when he did not comply.
Police reportedly are calling the incident criminal, not terror-related, although with elements of a hate crime.
A Chabad spokesman told Israeli media that homeless men sometimes enter the world headquarters, which is open 24 hours a day, in order to get warm. — jta