“No one is leaving.” That’s what the suspect in Saturday’s Hanukkah attack in Monsey allegedly told party-goers. Cable News coverage has been dominated by the incident with local, state and federal officials coming to Ramapo and West Nyack’s JCC yesterday for round-table discussions on what to do about hate in the county. Federal hate crime charges were filed yesterday against 37 year-old Grafton Thomas of Greenwood Lake in the Southern District of New York. He was arraigned in White Plains and ordered held without bail. Police also reportedly found Thomas had anti-semitic journals and had visited anti-semitic websites, but his Goshen attorney Michael Sussman disputed that. While patrols in Monsey have been beefed up again following Saturday night’s machete attack in which five were injured while celebrating Hanukkah, a Pearl River safety consultant is offering free armed patrols to Congregation Netzach Yisroel and the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, where the attack took place. Brosnan Risk Consultants CEO Patrick Brosnan says he’ll be providing trained professionals to help keep things peaceful in the area. Brosnan said he was glad to hear the congregation didn’t let the suspect do whatever he wanted…
Brosnan says his company will provide free armed patrols for an indefinite period of time. Rockland County Executive Ed Day stressed the company will be an additional layer of security that local law enforcement provides…
Four of the five victims have reportedly been released from area hospitals, while the fifth, an elderly man who suffered a fractured skull, remained hospitalized.