A 17-year-old student at Renaissance Charter School in Queens, NY, was arrested Monday after allegedly sending emails referencing “killing Jews” to multiple people connected to the school’s campus.

Police said the teen sent the messages around 12:30 p.m. to recipients linked to the Jackson Heights school, which serves students from pre-K through 12th grade. He was taken into custody about three hours later and charged with making terroristic threats and aggravated harassment as a hate crime.

Officials have not said whether the emails were directed specifically at students, faculty, or both. The school, located on 81st Street near 37th Avenue, has been operating since 1993, according to its website.

The arrest comes as city officials warn of a surge in antisemitic crimes. The New York City Police Department reported last week that anti-Jewish hate crimes jumped 182 percent in January compared with the same month last year, accounting for more than half of all reported bias incidents.

According to NYPD data, 31 anti-Jewish crimes were reported in January, up from 11 in January 2025.

The Queens case is the latest in a string of high-profile incidents that have raised concern among Jews across New York City.

Last week, authorities charged a New Jersey man after he repeatedly rammed his vehicle into the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Crown Heights. The suspect faces multiple hate crime charges and is being held on $500,000 bond.

Days earlier, a 32-year-old man attacked a rabbi in Queens while shouting antisemitic slurs as the victim walked to shul. The suspect was charged with assault and aggravated harassment, including one count as a hate crime, and was released under supervision despite prosecutors’ objections.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)