(UPDATE: SUSPECT IDENTITY REVEALED) Suspect Wanted for Spitting at 74-Year-Old Man Wearing Yarmulke

UPDATE (Friday, June 21 at 1:47 p.m.): While the NYPD just told us that no arrest has been made, social media accounts @community.news and @jewhatedb have revealed what they believe to be the identity of the suspect wanted for spitting on a 74-year-old Jewish man.

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“Myles Utz assaulted a visibly elderly Jewish man near W 86th Street & Amsterdam Avenue, shouting Jew hate slurs, throwing glass jars, and spitting at the elderly man and other Jewish individuals nearby,” the Instagram posts read.

The posts also claim that Utz is a 28-year-old Ohio native who “identifies as trans and has been previously attacked and assaulted because of that.”

 

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A post shared by Jew Hate Database (@jewhatedb)

Original article published on Thursday, June 20 at 2:11 p.m.:

The NYPD has put out an alert about a suspect wanted in connection to an incident of aggravated harassment which took place on the UWS this weekend. It is being investigated as a hate crime.

It happened at about 4 p.m. on Sunday when an unknown male suspect spat at a 74-year-old Jewish man wearing a yarmulke. The incident took place on Amsterdam Avenue between 86th and 87th streets and according to police, the suspect had been “acting disorderly and acting in an unsafe manner” before spitting at the older man.

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A video shared on X (formerly Twitter) by @StopAntisemites shows the perpetrator spitting on the man, then backing away and spitting towards him again as bystanders stepped in to support the victim.

“Get the hell away from me,” the 74-year-old can be heard saying before he was spat on. The perpetrator initially charges at the elderly man, but appears to back off as a bystander tries to intervene. He then spits on the man from only a few feet away.

Multiple bystanders then try to shoo the suspect away, at which point he can be heard saying “Free Palestine” as he backs away from the group with a smile on his face.

Another person at the scene responded by yelling, “How are you freeing Palestine right now? All you’re doing is harassing people.”

Others can be heard yelling, “You’re a loser, get out of here,” “Get out of this neighborhood,” and, “F– off!”

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It’s unclear from the video what, if anything, provoked the attack. But based on recent spikes of incidents of antisemitism across the city, it is no surprise that this attack may have been unprompted.

Following the incident, the suspect fled on foot south down Amsterdam Avenue. No injuries were reported as a result of this incident and the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.

Anyone with relevant information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by sending a direct message to @NYPDTips on Twitter.


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