A 14-year-old boy was charged with a hate crime Monday for allegedly spraying two older Jewish men with fire extinguishers in Brooklyn last weekend, police said.
The teen is accused of targeting the two victims dressed in traditional Hasidic garb in a pair of anti-Semitic attacks just minutes apart on Aug. 21 as they headed to a Williamsburg prayer service, according to cops.
In both instances, he sprayed the men, 72 and 66, with the fire-quelling chemicals, police said. In the second attack the teen also allegedly punched the victim.
“It’s believed these victims were targeted because they are Jewish,” NYPD Commissioner Keechan Sewell said at a Monday press conference announcing the arrest.
“No one deserves to be the victim of such senseless, hateful violence,” she added.
