Police arrested three men and one teenager suspected of beating and attempting to rob three Jewish men in south Williamsburg on Monday — without charging them for a hate crime.
One of the suspects sucker-punched a 71-year-old man on Ross Street between Bedford and Wythe avenues at 5 a.m. according to police, who claimed they then rummaged through his pockets, but didn’t steal any property.
The suspects, ages 17, 18, 19, and 20, repeated the assault on a 67-year-old man on Clymer Street near Wythe Avenue a half hour later, before attacking a 56-year-old man on Wythe Place at Wilson Street 10 minutes after that, police claim.
Like before, the suspects searched the victim’s pockets, only to flee empty handed, cops said.
Paramedics transported the 71-year-old and 56-year-old victims to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, while the 67-year-old man refused medical attention, according to police.
A local lawmaker quickly condemned the attacks, which he perceived as anti-Semitic hate crimes.
“Terribly shocking and sad to see multiple elderly Orthodox Jewish residents of Williamsburg attacked early this morning,” Councilman Stephen Levin tweeted on Monday. “We need to collectively stand up against hate and violence in our community.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio also condemned the attacks as hate crimes, claiming the victims were targeted due to their ethnicity.
“We will never stand idly by while our fellow New Yorkers are targeted because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or any other quality that makes them who they are,” de Blasio said at the time. “The Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes will work to root out hate and make our streets safer.”
However, the Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force determined that the crimes were not motivated by prejudice.
Cops cuffed two of the alleged perpetrators on Aug. 14, and the remaining two on Aug. 15, charging all four with various counts of robbery and assault, authorities said.
The suspects have not been arraigned, and a spokesman for the district attorney’s office could not comment regarding any pending charges.
