A Brooklyn woman is charged with hate crimes for cutting two Jewish men minutes apart in Midtown Manhattan, and prosecutors say she picked them because they were Jewish.
Story Highlights
- Anna Mochalova, 32, was arrested Saturday, October 24, and charged Sunday, October 25.
- Prosecutors say she cut two Jewish men about five minutes apart on Wednesday, October 21.
- Prosecutors say the sharp object she used is suspected to be a syringe.
- She allegedly asked a third man if he was Jewish, then said sorry and walked off when he said he was Muslim.
- The first man cut, a 26-year-old reported to be a rabbi, went back to the same block the next day to keep up his outreach work with other Jews.
- Her lawyer says police may have the wrong person. She returns to court Thursday, October 29.
Two Men Cut Minutes Apart
Police arrested Anna Mochalova, 32, of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, on Saturday, October 24. On Sunday, October 25, she was charged with assault as a hate crime in two attacks on Jewish men in Midtown Manhattan. A hate crime charge adds tougher penalties when prosecutors say a victim was chosen for his faith, race or another trait. Prosecutors say that is what happened here: she went after men who looked Jewish.
🚨 SICKENING: The New York Post’s front page says it all: “STALKING JEWS.”
Anna Mochalova, 32, was arrested and charged with assault as a hate crime after allegedly stalking and stabbing a rabbi in the back with a needle in Midtown Manhattan, then stabbing another Jewish man in… pic.twitter.com/g5cRDnmsgj
— JOHN .F. KENNEDY Jr (@johnfrkennedy) October 26, 2026
Her lawyer, Lila Carpenter of the Legal Aid Society, told the court police may have the wrong woman. “These allegations are concerning. Whether they’re my client’s is a different story,” she said. Mochalova did not enter a plea.
The first attack came at about 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21, outside 15 West 47th Street. That block is the heart of the Diamond District, a stretch of jewelry shops and dealers. According to the criminal complaint, a woman followed a 26-year-old man in traditional Hasidic clothing, the black suit and hat worn by men in a strict branch of Orthodox Judaism. He has been reported to be a rabbi. When he crossed the street to get away, she followed him and cornered him against a vehicle. He felt a sharp sting in his lower back, then found he was bleeding. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
A Second Victim and a Question
About five minutes later, at Sixth Avenue and West 45th Street, a 37-year-old man in a yarmulke, the small cap many Jewish men wear, was waiting to cross the street. He said someone kept pushing into him from behind. Then he felt a sting in his right forearm and found a bleeding cut. Prosecutors say the woman threatened him in Russian, saying she had a gun and would shoot him, and reached into her jacket. He declined medical care at the scene.
The complaint says the woman then walked up to a third man and asked him in English if he was Jewish. When he said he was Muslim, she said sorry and walked away. Prosecutors point to that moment as a sign she was choosing her targets by faith.
Police and the complaint have not named the sharp object. Prosecutors described it as suspected to be a syringe.
How Police Found Her and What Comes Next
After the attacks, Manhattan Shomrim, a Jewish neighborhood watch group, asked the public for witnesses and video. A detective with the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force pulled a still image from surveillance video on West 47th Street. Another officer recognized Mochalova from past contact with her, according to reports. Tips from the public and Shomrim groups in Crown Heights and Queens also helped lead to her arrest.
She faces two counts of second-degree assault as a hate crime, one count of second-degree menacing as a hate crime, two counts of fourth-degree weapon possession and two counts of second-degree aggravated harassment. Prosecutors asked for $100,000 cash bail. The judge set $50,000 cash or a $150,000 bond. She is due back in court on Thursday, October 29.
A store owner who knows the first victim’s family called them kind people and said he was glad the case is being treated as a hate crime. The young man went back to the same block the next day to keep up his outreach work with other Jews.
Sources:
whmi.com, nbcnewyork.com, nydailynews.com, fox5ny.com