May 22, 2008 11:58 am US/Eastern
Police Arrest Suspect In Crown Heights Assault
Racially Divided Brooklyn Community In Flames Over Recent Brutal Beatings
BROOKLYN (CBS) ―
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Police in Brooklyn are searching for two suspects in a violent robbery that left a teenager lying unconscious on the street. The incident took place early Friday morning in Crown Heights.
CBS
The Brooklyn District Attorney's office has confirmed the arrest of a 14-year-old suspect in the assault and robbery case of Alon Sherman in the Crown Heights section of the borough.
Police say the 14-year-old will be charged as an adult at this time. Authorities are also questioning a 15-year-old teen. The latest arrest comes nearly a week after Sherman was attacked and robbed of his bicycle, watch and cell phone. He was left lying unconscious in the street.
Although the NYPD did not classify the assault as a bias crime, hundreds of Hasidic Jews have taken to the streets in the last few days protesting the assault on Sherman.
The group marched in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, briefly blocking traffic on Eastern Parkway.
The area has recently seen tension between Jews and blacks who have coexisted, usually peacefully, in the neighborhood for decades.
Black leaders in April expressed outrage after a 20-year-old black college student was attacked the neighborhood by two Jewish men in what police described as a hate crime.
"Over the last two weeks, I have spent dozens of hours in meetings with Jewish community leaders and members of the Crown Heights community, and you can see that people are panicked," said Assemblyman Dov Hikind. He added, "People are deeply concerned and there is palpable tension. There have been almost daily incidents of violence directed at Jewish individuals."
Senator Eric Adams stated on Thursday, "We are here today to condemn acts of intolerance and to stand united in our conviction that every moral and ethical human being champions the brotherhood of the one true race, the human race.
Hikind will stand in solidarity with members of his Black Jewish Alliance, inaugurated in January, to restore trust and security to the Crown Heights community. Rev. Ken Bogan of Greater Restoration Church and Mr. Richard Green, Executive Director of the Crown Heights Youth collective will represent Project CARE. Joining Hikind will be community leadership from different neighborhoods.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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