RAMAPO, NY – Somebody is driving around hitting residents in Rockland County’s Orthodox Jewish enclave during last Saturday’s Shabbos observance. During this time, Orthodox Jewish residents are prohibited by Jewish law to drive vehicles and must walk to and from prayer groups.
Last Saturday, the Ramapo Police Department said multiple pedestrians were struck by objects in several related incidents by a passing vehicle.
According to police, the suspects allegedly were driving a white Ford F-150 pickup truck.
The incident is now being treated as a hate crime as police later said the objects were BBs and eggs.
A Jewish woman pushing her child in a stroller along Route 306 was also egged. In two other cases, the suspect shot a BB gun at Jewish women. One was struck several times.
“When you walk home at the end of a day of rest, calm schmoozing, and not expecting anything bad, imagine us talking and all of a sudden eggs coming flying our way,”Yossi Gestetner, a Hasidic Community spokesman, told ABC News. “I think it’s a problem.”
An attack near West Maple Street was caught on camera when a Jewish man was hit with a pellet gun.
District Attorney Tom Walsh is asking any victims, witnesses or anyone with information in regards to these incidents to contact the Ramapo PD at (845) 357-2400 or use the Rockland DA Tip 411 line.
