Driver smashes car into Chabad’s world headquarters in New York City
Suspect is arrested at the scene; his motives are unknown and there are no reports of injuries; incident sparks widespread alarm in Jewish community
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLuke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.
NEW YORK — A driver smashed a car into a side entrance of the Chabad movement’s world headquarters in New York City on Wednesday, provoking widespread alarm in the Jewish community.
Video showed a car repeatedly ramming into the building’s entrance, knocking a door off its hinges, as bystanders watched.
The driver then exited the vehicle, walked slowly toward the road and was arrested by police at the scene.
A Chabad spokesperson, Motti Seligson, said in a statement that the ramming appeared to be intentional, that the driver’s motives were unclear, and that there were no injuries.
The building, at 770 Eastern Parkway and known colloquially as “770,” is revered worldwide, and sits at the heart of the Chabad neighborhood in Crown Heights.
The building is likely the most famous and recognizable Jewish site in New York City.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at the scene that police stationed at the building heard a commotion at the building’s main entrance, and when they responded, saw a vehicle strike the rear door, reverse, and strike the door again.
Officers ordered the driver out of the car and arrested him. A bomb squad swept the vehicle and found no explosives, Tisch said.
She added that it was too early to determine the driver’s mental state or motives.
The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and the NYPD has increased security at houses of worship around the city, including by deploying counter-terrorism units.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at the scene that the ramming was a “horrifying incident.”
“This is deeply alarming, especially given the deep meaning and the history of this institution to so many in New York and around the world,” Mamdani said.
“Any threat to a Jewish institution or place of worship must be taken seriously. Antisemitism has no place in our city and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable. I stand in solidarity with the Crown Heights Jewish community,” Mamdani said.
Jewish groups and elected leaders expressed shock at the incident.
“We’re horrified by tonight’s car ramming attack at Chabad World Headquarters,” the UJA-Federation of New York says.
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul called the incident “antisemitic violence.”
“An attack against the Jewish community is an attack against all New Yorkers,” Hochul said.
New footage shows a male driver ramming their vehicle into the entrance of Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters on 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York.
He would then exit the vehicle before being taken into custody by authorities. No immediate reports of injuries. https://t.co/wss3pcQbrd pic.twitter.com/70WuJvvA02
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 29, 2026
A car just drove into the side doors of 770 at Chabad Headquarters. Baruch Hashem, there are no injuries. Witnesses report the driver yelled for people to move as he drove in. It appears intentional. The synagogue has been evacuated as a precaution.
Please stay away from the… pic.twitter.com/ljsoZ0sIE7
— Yaacov Behrman (@ChabadLubavitch) January 29, 2026
Crown Heights Shomrim, a neighborhood watch group, said that preliminary findings showed the driver had been previously arrested for attempting to enter a Chabad synagogue in New Jersey.
“Authorities believe he was angered by that incident and subsequently targeted Chabad Headquarters,” Shomrim said. “At this time, there are no known links to terrorism.”
The ramming took place during an annual celebration marking the 75th anniversary of the late Chabad rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, taking on the leadership of the movement.
The building was evacuated, and police closed off the street and were treating the location as an active crime scene.
The incident came amid ongoing trepidation over security in the New York Jewish community.
Jews are targeted in hate crimes more than all other groups combined in the city, and there have been several high-profile recent incidents of antisemitism.
On Tuesday, a rabbi was punched in the face and chest in Queens on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Last week, two teenagers were arrested for painting dozens of swastikas on a playground in a Jewish area of Brooklyn.
Last month in Queens, anti-Israel protesters chanted in support of the Hamas terrorist group outside a synagogue and Jewish school.
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