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A taxi driver attempted to mow down a group of students and a rabbi outside a Jewish school in Brooklyn in an alleged attempt to ‘kill all the Jews’. Asghar Ali, 58, a Pakistani immigrant with a reported history of mental illness, faces dozens of charges, including for attempted murder, after the attack outside the school in Canarsie on Wednesday, The New York Post reported.
Surveillance camera footage shows a cab driver, later identified by police as Ali, reviving his engine as he drives up onto the sidewalk near the Mesivta Nachlas Yakov School building. He then chases a group of young men in an apparent attempt to run them over.
The group, who sought safety inside the school building, alleged that as he chased them down, Ali yelled: ‘I’m going to kill all the Jews.’ Ali launched his attack first by trying to hit a teenaged boy who was on his phone while standing at the Glenwood Road and East 55 Street, a rabbi told the newspaper.
He then allegedly headed around the block, driving on the wrong side of East 56 Street, and lunged his car towards a group of 30 to 40 students dressed in traditional Orthodox attire. Ali headed back towards the school, where he then lunged his car at two more students and a rabbi. The victims ran into the building before being hit.
The taxi cab driver fled the scene, but was later found by members of the Shomrim Safety Patrol who contacted the NYPD. Police took Ali into custody and he was transferred to Coney Island Hospital. He face several charges including attempted murder, attempted assault and hate crimes charges.
Officers do not believe the attack is terror related and do not have evidence that Ali is associated with radical groups, according to the newspaper.
NYPD have identified five victims in the attack, including three 18-year-olds, a 41-year-old and a 44-year-old. No one was injured during the incident.
Ali, who has lived in the US for over 20 years, is considered to be an ’emotionally disturbed’, the Post reported, citing law enforcement sources.
He reportedly has four prior arrests, including one involving false identification. He also allegedly claims to be a professional taxi driver, but does not have a TLC Driver License.
The NYPD has been approached for additional information and comment. DailyMail.com attempted to contact the Mesivta Nachlas Yakov School, but nobody was immediately available.
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