AJC Praises NYPD for Arrest in Assault of Brooklyn Jewish Leader

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Oct 20, 2014, 01:41 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC praised the New York Police Department for apprehending the suspect, Shawn Schraeder, in the brutal beating of Leonard Petlakh, executive director of the Kings Bay Y in Brooklyn, New York.

The assault occurred as Petlakh and others were leaving the Barclays Center earlier this month, following a basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Out of the blue, Schraeder, a pro-Palestinian activist, punched Petlakh, in front of his two children, causing a broken nose and other facial injuries requiring stitches.

"We are gratified by the rapid response of the NYPD in investigating and arresting Shawn Schraeder for the vicious and unprovoked attack on Petlakh," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "However, we are surprised and disappointed that Schraeder has not yet been charged with committing a hate crime. Clearly, this violent assault has every indication of being just that."

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SOURCE American Jewish Committee