Man who official says has past mental health issues faces hate crime charges after disrupting service at Manhattan synagogue

By Mark Morales, Karina Tsui, Rebekah Riess, CNN

(CNN) — A man who a law enforcement official says has a history of mental health issues has been arrested and charged with multiple hate crimes after disrupting Shabbat services and injuring a woman at Central Synagogue in Manhattan Friday night, New York police said.

The man, identified as 46-year-old Larry Montes from the Bronx, also “damaged synagogue property,” and spat at and headbutted a member of the synagogue’s security team as he was escorted out of the building, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on X.

Congregants scrambled as shouts of panic erupted, according to a clip from the synagogue’s livestream obtained by CNN affiliate WCBS. A security guard restrained the man as he barreled down the aisle, according to WCBS.

Montes entered the synagogue during the service and was sitting down for roughly 10 minutes before he got up and was confronted by security, a law enforcement official told CNN.

Security officers began to question him once he started walking toward an area that wasn’t open to the public, prompting him to chop at two candles, each valued around $10,000, with his hands, the official said.

When he tried to make his way toward the rabbi, security escorted him out and he proceeded to attack a woman and the security guard while also yelling a racial slur at him, the official said.

A 63-year-old woman suffered a small cut to her lip and injuries to her right forearm after being struck by the man, an NYPD spokesperson told CNN.

“He was screaming and yelling. I heard a loud pop … We thought it was a gun,” Susan Roane, who was at the service, told WCBS.

Congregant Arlynn Greenbaum told WCBS she saw the suspect wasn’t armed, but still wanted to take cover.

“He was just ranting and raving and yelling,” she said. “He was very full of hate.”

Montes has several sealed arrests, some of which were robberies, as well as a history of mental health issues, the law enforcement official told CNN. Investigators do not have evidence that he was targeting anyone inside the synagogue, the official said.

While the precise motivation for Friday’s attack remains unclear, it comes amid a rise in reports of antisemitic assaults on American soil. Just last year, the US reached a record high of such attacks, including its first fatality since 2022, according to a report published by the Anti-Defamation League.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has had a tense relationship with some members of the city’s Jewish community over his fierce criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, was quick to condemn the attack.

“This despicable act has no place in our city, and our administration will do everything in our power to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe,” he said on X on Friday night. He added that New Yorkers must be able to observe their religion without fear of violence.

“I am grateful to Central Synagogue’s security team for swiftly stepping in to prevent more violence, and to the NYPD sergeant who apprehended him and took him into custody,” Mamdani said in a social media post announcing Montes’ charges on Saturday.

“Our administration will always stand against bigotry in all its forms. We will use every tool at our disposal to confront antisemitism and keep Jewish New Yorkers — and all New Yorkers — safe,” the mayor added.

Montes has been charged with “two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime, along with other charges,” Tisch said.

“I have spoken with the rabbi of the synagogue, and I’m relieved that no one was seriously injured. Those who were hurt were evaluated at the scene and are doing well,” Tisch said.

In a statement posted on Facebook hours after the attack, Central Synagogue said it was grateful for the outpouring of support after Friday’s “disturbing events.”

“We will keep on gathering for joyful, meaningful Judaism with our Central family every week,” the temple wrote.

“We went through something really hard and scary last night,” synagogue cantor Jenna Pearsall said, before offering a “healing prayer … focused on the whole community, on all of us,” during a Shabbat service Saturday morning.

Central Synagogue Rabbi Andrew Kaplan Mandel opened the service on Saturday by saying the congregation is grateful to be safe and won’t “allow anyone to rob us of our attention on Shabbat.”

“Our day of rest was interrupted last night by a security incident in our main sanctuary, but we are OK. We are safe. We are grateful to be here, we are grateful to our security team for supporting us. We feel so grateful for our community,” the rabbi said.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemned what he said was an antisemitic attack in a post directly criticizing the city’s leader.

“This is another chilling reminder that anti-Semitism does not belong in the past, it’s occurring here and now, in the heart of New York,” he wrote on X.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the attack “appalling.”

“Jewish New Yorkers have every right to worship openly, proudly, and without fear,” she wrote on X.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s David Williams, Emma Tucker and Tina Burnside contributed to this report.