A knife-wielding man stormed into a rabbi's home and stabbed five people as they celebrated Hanukkah in an Orthodox Jewish community north of New York City, an ambush the governor said Sunday was an act of domestic terrorism fueled by intolerance and a "cancer” of growing hatred in America.
Police tracked a fleeing suspect to Manhattan and made an arrest within two hours of the attack Saturday night in Monsey. Grafton E. Thomas had blood all over his clothing, smelled of bleach but said "almost nothing” when officers stopped him, officials said.
An automated license plate reader alerted officers that the suspect’s car had crossed over the George Washington Bridge into New York City about an hour after the attack. Thomas was stopped and taken into custody about 20-30 minutes later, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said.
Security camera footage the NYPD made public Sunday night showed two officers approaching Thomas’ sedan with guns drawn before the suspect placed his hands on the roof of the car and he was put in handcuffs.
President Donald Trump condemned the "horrific" attack, saying in a tweet Sunday that "We must all come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism."
One witness described the attack as a chaotic scene punctuated with panic and screams.
Associated Press