- Anna Mochalova, 32, of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, was arrested after allegedly stabbing two men with a syringe in Manhattan’s Diamond District. Prosecutors said the first victim, dressed in traditional Hasidic clothing, was cornered against a vehicle around 5:50 p.m. Wednesday and jabbed in the lower back, causing a laceration, bleeding and substantial pain.
- Approximately five minutes later, prosecutors alleged, Mochalova attacked a second man wearing a yarmulke, repeatedly pushing into him before stabbing his forearm with a needle. According to the complaint, she threatened to shoot him in Russian and gestured toward her jacket as though carrying a firearm. She then allegedly asked whether he was Jewish and apologized when he said he was Muslim.
- Investigators identified Mochalova using surveillance footage and an NYPD officer who recognized her from previous encounters. She was arrested Saturday and charged with second-degree assault and menacing as hate crimes, aggravated harassment and criminal possession of a weapon.