Police arrested a Manhattan man Tuesday for allegedly punching a woman in the face in an anti-Jewish hate crime.
Cops said Christopher D’Aguiar, 28, of Manhattan was taken into custody Tuesday evening after a crime stoppers tip helped detectives find him.
D’Aguiar was charged with hate crime assault and harassment for the Oct. 14 incident, where he allegedly struck a 29-year-old woman in the 7 train passageway of the 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue subway station. When she asked him why he punched her, he stated “because you are Jewish” and then ran off, according to police.
The victim suffered minor injuries.
The NYPD said this week that hate crimes against Jews have increased since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
According to police, 30 out of 51 total hate crimes since the week of Oct. 9 have been against Jews. By contrast, police said there were six anti-Jewish hate crimes during the same week in 2022.
Overall, police said hate crimes are down 13% compared to last year.
D’Aguiar’s arraignment was pending in Manhattan criminal court.
