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| Suspect in Anti-Semitic Rampage in Monsey Is Eyed in Earlier Attack | Suspect in Anti-Semitic Rampage in Monsey Is Eyed in Earlier Attack |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| The police are actively exploring whether a man accused of storming into a Hasidic rabbi’s home and stabbing five people at a Hanukkah celebration last week in a New York City suburb was also involved in another stabbing near a synagogue a month earlier, officials said on Thursday. | The police are actively exploring whether a man accused of storming into a Hasidic rabbi’s home and stabbing five people at a Hanukkah celebration last week in a New York City suburb was also involved in another stabbing near a synagogue a month earlier, officials said on Thursday. |
| Chief Brad Weidel of the Ramapo Police Department, which is overseeing both investigations, said that detectives were looking at possible links between the two attacks but that the man, Grafton E. Thomas, was not yet a suspect in the November one. Both attacks occurred in Monsey, N.Y., located about 30 miles northwest of New York City. | Chief Brad Weidel of the Ramapo Police Department, which is overseeing both investigations, said that detectives were looking at possible links between the two attacks but that the man, Grafton E. Thomas, was not yet a suspect in the November one. Both attacks occurred in Monsey, N.Y., located about 30 miles northwest of New York City. |
| Within days of the chilling stabbing in November, when an Orthodox Jewish man was attacked as he walked to his synagogue, officers had interviewed Mr. Thomas, according to Chief Weidel. But investigators, who had tied Mr. Thomas to a vehicle similar to the one they believed might have been used, did not have evidence to directly connect him to the attack. | Within days of the chilling stabbing in November, when an Orthodox Jewish man was attacked as he walked to his synagogue, officers had interviewed Mr. Thomas, according to Chief Weidel. But investigators, who had tied Mr. Thomas to a vehicle similar to the one they believed might have been used, did not have evidence to directly connect him to the attack. |
| After Mr. Thomas, of Greenwood Lake, N.Y., was arrested last Saturday and charged with being responsible for a bloody rampage that horrified people across the country, a detective recognized his name from the earlier investigation and decided to re-examine the possibility that he had been involved. | After Mr. Thomas, of Greenwood Lake, N.Y., was arrested last Saturday and charged with being responsible for a bloody rampage that horrified people across the country, a detective recognized his name from the earlier investigation and decided to re-examine the possibility that he had been involved. |
| “We get a name, and the detectives go, ‘Wait a minute. Isn’t that the guy we interviewed from Greenwood Lake?’” Chief Weidel said at a news conference at Ramapo’s town hall. | “We get a name, and the detectives go, ‘Wait a minute. Isn’t that the guy we interviewed from Greenwood Lake?’” Chief Weidel said at a news conference at Ramapo’s town hall. |
| On a conference call with reporters, Mr. Thomas’s lawyer, Michael Sussman, said that he had not investigated whether Mr. Thomas was connected to the November attack and could not comment on it. | On a conference call with reporters, Mr. Thomas’s lawyer, Michael Sussman, said that he had not investigated whether Mr. Thomas was connected to the November attack and could not comment on it. |
| The attack in November rattled the Jewish community in Rockland County, a suburban area northwest of New York City that is believed to have one of the largest concentrations of ultra-Orthodox Jews outside of Israel. | The attack in November rattled the Jewish community in Rockland County, a suburban area northwest of New York City that is believed to have one of the largest concentrations of ultra-Orthodox Jews outside of Israel. |
| At around 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 20, a Hasidic Jewish man was headed to a synagogue on Howard Drive for morning prayers, when a car stopped and at least one man attacked him, officials said. | At around 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 20, a Hasidic Jewish man was headed to a synagogue on Howard Drive for morning prayers, when a car stopped and at least one man attacked him, officials said. |
| The victim in that attack survived, but the November case remained unsolved. For weeks, the authorities have shied away from calling it a hate crime despite pressure from Jewish community leaders, saying they have not collected enough evidence to determine a motive. | The victim in that attack survived, but the November case remained unsolved. For weeks, the authorities have shied away from calling it a hate crime despite pressure from Jewish community leaders, saying they have not collected enough evidence to determine a motive. |
| Since then, tension and anxiety among the area’s Orthodox community has only increased after a string of anti-Semitic attacks in the region, including a mass shooting at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, N.J., that killed two Hasidic Jews, among others, as well as a string of anti-Semitic crimes in Brooklyn and the stabbing in Monsey. | Since then, tension and anxiety among the area’s Orthodox community has only increased after a string of anti-Semitic attacks in the region, including a mass shooting at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, N.J., that killed two Hasidic Jews, among others, as well as a string of anti-Semitic crimes in Brooklyn and the stabbing in Monsey. |
| The police investigating the November attack had obtained surveillance video that showed the vehicle that might have been involved. The video was not high-quality, Chief Weidel said, so detectives showed the footage to area auto-body shops, where workers said the car was a Honda Pilot. | The police investigating the November attack had obtained surveillance video that showed the vehicle that might have been involved. The video was not high-quality, Chief Weidel said, so detectives showed the footage to area auto-body shops, where workers said the car was a Honda Pilot. |
| A detective then discovered that a Honda Pilot had been in nearby Clarkstown about two and a half hours before the stabbing, according to Chief Weidel. That vehicle was registered to Mr. Thomas’s mother, Kim Kennedy, who told officers that her son had driven the car that night, Chief Weidel said. | A detective then discovered that a Honda Pilot had been in nearby Clarkstown about two and a half hours before the stabbing, according to Chief Weidel. That vehicle was registered to Mr. Thomas’s mother, Kim Kennedy, who told officers that her son had driven the car that night, Chief Weidel said. |
| Ms. Kennedy told the police that Mr. Thomas “likes to go driving around at night” and that it was not unusual for him to be driving around at 3 a.m., Chief Weidel said. Ms. Kennedy told reporters on Thursday that when she spoke with the police then, she was not aware they were investigating the November attack. | Ms. Kennedy told the police that Mr. Thomas “likes to go driving around at night” and that it was not unusual for him to be driving around at 3 a.m., Chief Weidel said. Ms. Kennedy told reporters on Thursday that when she spoke with the police then, she was not aware they were investigating the November attack. |
| The police subsequently spoke with Mr. Thomas, Chief Weidel said. He told them that he had been in Clarkstown, about 30 miles from his home, because the car had “mechanical problems.” | The police subsequently spoke with Mr. Thomas, Chief Weidel said. He told them that he had been in Clarkstown, about 30 miles from his home, because the car had “mechanical problems.” |
| When detectives examined the car, they found nothing to suggest that it had been on Howard Drive or that it had been involved in the attack, Chief Weidel said. | When detectives examined the car, they found nothing to suggest that it had been on Howard Drive or that it had been involved in the attack, Chief Weidel said. |
| The police have since obtained a federal search warrant for the Honda Pilot, Chief Weidel said. It was in the authorities’ hands as of Thursday, and they were examining it for any evidence that might connect it to the November attack. | The police have since obtained a federal search warrant for the Honda Pilot, Chief Weidel said. It was in the authorities’ hands as of Thursday, and they were examining it for any evidence that might connect it to the November attack. |
| Mr. Thomas, who is said to be 37 or 38, remains in custody in the Rockland County jail, according to Mr. Sussman. | Mr. Thomas, who is said to be 37 or 38, remains in custody in the Rockland County jail, according to Mr. Sussman. |
| According to a federal criminal complaint, officers found both a bloody machete and a bloody knife in Mr. Thomas’s car — a different vehicle from the Honda Pilot — when he was arrested in Harlem, about 30 miles from Monsey, with blood on his clothes, officials said. | According to a federal criminal complaint, officers found both a bloody machete and a bloody knife in Mr. Thomas’s car — a different vehicle from the Honda Pilot — when he was arrested in Harlem, about 30 miles from Monsey, with blood on his clothes, officials said. |
| Mr. Thomas has pleaded not guilty to five counts of state charges of attempted murder. A grand jury in Rockland County is expected to consider the charges against him on Friday morning. | Mr. Thomas has pleaded not guilty to five counts of state charges of attempted murder. A grand jury in Rockland County is expected to consider the charges against him on Friday morning. |
| Federal prosecutors have also filed five hate crime charges, accusing Mr. Thomas of obstructing the free exercise of religion in an attempt to kill. In a criminal complaint, they said that Mr. Thomas made written references to Hitler and “Nazi culture” in journals, and that he repeatedly searched online for information on local temples and on topics such as “Why did Hitler hate the Jews?” | Federal prosecutors have also filed five hate crime charges, accusing Mr. Thomas of obstructing the free exercise of religion in an attempt to kill. In a criminal complaint, they said that Mr. Thomas made written references to Hitler and “Nazi culture” in journals, and that he repeatedly searched online for information on local temples and on topics such as “Why did Hitler hate the Jews?” |
| Mr. Thomas was detained without bail in the federal case. His family, friends and lawyer said that he had suffered from mental illness but that he had no history of anti-Semitism. | |
| Four of the victims in the Hanukkah attack were released from area hospitals. The fifth, Josef Neumann, 72, remained unconscious as of Thursday afternoon, his relatives said at a news conference. | Four of the victims in the Hanukkah attack were released from area hospitals. The fifth, Josef Neumann, 72, remained unconscious as of Thursday afternoon, his relatives said at a news conference. |
| “The doctors do not have high hopes for him,” said his daughter, Nicky Kohen. “If he wakes up, he may never be able to walk, talk or even process speech again.” | “The doctors do not have high hopes for him,” said his daughter, Nicky Kohen. “If he wakes up, he may never be able to walk, talk or even process speech again.” |