NY suspect indicted for ‘brutally assaulting’ Jewish man on subway

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn district attorney’s office on Wednesday indicted a suspect for allegedly beating a Jewish man on a New York City subway in an antisemitic attack.

Neil Hurlock, 20, a Brooklyn resident, was charged with assault, menacing, robbery and aggravated harassment — all as hate crimes — as well as other charges.

On the morning of March 2, Hurlock, wearing a black face mask, followed his Jewish victim onto a train at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center subway station in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office said in a statement.

Hurlock allegedly punched the victim in the face twice, picked the victim up while striking him, threw the victim onto subway seats, and punched him in the face several more times.

Hurlock allegedly called the victim a “Fucking Jew” during the attack.

The victim was reading a religious text and identifiable as Jewish due to his clothing, including a kippah, the district attorney’s office said.

The attacker allegedly removed the kippah from the victim’s head before fleeing the scene.

During the attack, the defendant’s phone fell out of his pocket and was picked up by the victim, according to the statement. The victim called police and was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for pain, bruising and swelling on his head and cuts on his hands.

The police executed a search warrant for the attacker’s phone, obtained its number, and arrested Hurlock three days later after an investigation.

Hurlock was subsequently released and is set to appear in court in June.

“This defendant is accused of brutally assaulting a man in an unprovoked and senseless act of anti-Semitic hate. The impact of crimes like this radiates through entire communities and we will seek strong accountability because we have no tolerance for hate-fueled violence in Brooklyn,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez says in a statement.

Jews are targeted in hate crimes more than all other groups combined in New York City, according to police data. In 2025, Jews were targeted in 330 incidents, or 57% of all hate crimes reported to police, despite making up around 10% of the city’s population.

Under New York law, hate crime enhancements that allow for harsher penalties are added to an underlying offense if prosecutors can prove the perpetrator was motivated by the victim’s identity. The crimes are viewed as more severe because they target and impact an entire group, not just the individual. Convictions are rare because proving intent is a high legal bar.

The New York City Council is pushing reforms meant to combat antisemitism in the city.