(CNN) The New York Police Department (NYPD) is stepping up its presence in New York City's Jewish communities following two hate-related incidents in Brooklyn's Borough Park neighborhood over the weekend, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday. At around 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, two teens, ages 18 and 17, were approached by two men who "demanded that the victims repeat anti-Jewish statements," NYPD said in a statement on Sunday. When the victims, who are Jewish, refused, the attackers began punching them in their heads and one of the males put the 17-year-old in a "rear chokehold," NYPD said, adding that one attacker also chased the victims while "brandishing a baseball bat." The alleged attackers then fled in a blue Toyota Camry, according to police. Within the same hour, three male occupants of a blue Toyota Camry began "to yell anti-Jewish statements" toward four male victims, who are Jewish, in front of a nearby synagogue, NYPD said.

Source: CNN May 24, 2021 03:56 UTC