A New Jersey teenager is facing bias intimidation charges after police say he fired a pellet-style gun more than ten times at a man walking through a Teaneck neighborhood, allegedly targeting him because he was Jewish.

The incident unfolded around 6:10 p.m. Sunday along the 600 block of West Englewood Avenue, according to the Teaneck Police Department.

The 19-year-old victim told officers he was walking down the street when a black sedan pulled alongside him and someone inside the vehicle asked whether he supported Israel or Palestine.

The man did not respond and continued walking while beginning to record the encounter on his cellphone, police said.

Moments later, one of the three males inside the vehicle said something in Arabic before firing an Orbeez-style gel pellet gun, striking the victim once.

The vehicle initially drove away, but the encounter did not end there.

According to investigators, the sedan returned minutes later and stopped on nearby Jefferson Street, where someone inside the vehicle shouted for the victim to approach. When the man again ignored the call and continued recording the vehicle, a teenager leaning out of a passenger window allegedly opened fire.

Police say the suspect shot the victim approximately 10 times with gel pellets, striking him repeatedly in the upper torso before the sedan sped away eastbound on Ogden Avenue.

The victim, who did not require medical attention, called police.

Responding officers quickly located small orange gel beads scattered on the ground, evidence consistent with ammunition used in gel pellet guns, said Teaneck Deputy Police Chief Seth B. Kriegel.

“These toy-style devices use a spring-loaded or battery-powered electric mechanism to propel small water-absorbing gel beads through a barrel using compressed air,” Kriegel said. “While often marketed as toys, these devices are capable of causing injury, particularly when fired at the face or exposed skin.”

The victim told police he believed the attackers targeted him because of his religious background, noting that he had been wearing visible religious garments at the time of the encounter.

Detectives later tracked the suspect vehicle using Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras, which captured imagery showing a person leaning from the car window holding what appeared to be a pellet gun.

Police said officers located the vehicle shortly after detectives arrived at the registered owner’s residence and conducted a traffic stop nearby.

A 17-year-old boy was taken into custody and his parents were notified.

The teen, whose identity was not released due to his age, has been charged as a juvenile with second- and fourth-degree bias intimidation, fourth-degree conspiracy, a third-degree weapons offense, and simple assault.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)