A peaceful Shabbos evening in Crown Heights turned tense after a man shouting anti-Israel slogans and threatening violence terrorized local residents—only to return to the neighborhood hours later following his release from a hospital evaluation.

The first incident occurred around 8 p.m. Friday night, when Crown Heights Shomrim received reports of a male individual chasing and threatening community members while shouting “Free Palestine!” Responding within two minutes, Shomrim volunteers encountered the suspect holding a brick.

In a tense standoff, volunteers managed to deescalate the situation, keeping the man calm until officers from the NYPD arrived. The suspect was then taken to a local hospital, where he was classified as an emotionally disturbed person (EDP).

But the ordeal wasn’t over.

Just a few hours later, Shomrim was again called to Eastern Parkway and Kingston Avenue amid reports of an assault. To their shock, the same man—now released from psychiatric care—had returned to the neighborhood, where he resumed harassing and attacking Jewish residents. Witnesses reported the suspect again yelling “Free Palestine!” along with direct threats such as “I’m gonna kill you.”

The situation escalated, culminating in the man’s eventual arrest by NYPD officers in front of  Chabad headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway – a focal point of Shabbos activity in the neighborhood.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)