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Edited by: Fern Sidman
In a disturbing incident that has left the Crown Heights community on high alert, a 28-year-old man was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping after allegedly trying to abduct a 6-year-old Hasidic Jewish boy walking with his father in Brooklyn, according to a report by 1010 WINS News. The attempted kidnapping occurred on Kingston Avenue, a central location in Crown Heights, a neighborhood known for its large ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jewish population, especially members of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
The failed abduction, which was caught on camera by the local volunteer patrol organization Crown Heights Shomrim, shows the boy’s father walking down the street hand-in-hand with his two young sons. The footage, reviewed by 1010 WINS News, depicts a masked man in a blue-and-white letterman jacket approaching the family, grabbing the boy, and lifting him into his arms. The father, in a swift and instinctive move, immediately pulls his son back and pushes the would-be kidnapper away before the assailant retreats. Police later apprehended the suspect, identified as Stephen Stowe, 28, who now faces charges of attempted kidnapping and harassment. The motive behind the attack remains unclear.
1010 WINS News highlighted the heightened concerns of the Crown Heights community in response to this incident. The Shomrim patrol group, known for their vigilance in monitoring and assisting in neighborhood security, was pivotal in capturing and providing the video evidence of the attempted abduction, which has since circulated widely, raising awareness of the risks faced by local families.
Devorah Halberstam, a prominent advocate for the Jewish community and honorary commissioner of public safety for the NYPD, expressed her deep concern to 1010 WINS News, emphasizing the premeditated nature of the attack, as suggested by the assailant’s mask. Halberstam, whose son Ari was tragically murdered in a 1994 anti-Semitic attack, underscored the emotional toll these incidents take on the community. “The most sacred treasure in this world are our children,” she told 1010 WINS News. “Thank God for his father, but all members of the community feel the same—worried, concerned, and resolute about protecting their kids.”
The incident has also spurred broader conversations on safety and unity within Crown Heights. Bruce, a longtime resident of the neighborhood, expressed his unease to 1010 WINS News, noting that the community’s close-knit environment makes the attempt particularly unsettling. “You get to know the people around you and look out for one another,” he shared. “To think that someone feels there’s an opportunity to snatch a kid here of all places, right? That’s way out of the norm.”
The family at the center of the incident has also spoken out through Chabad public relations representative Yaacov Behrman, who, in a social media post shared by 1010 WINS News, conveyed the father’s gratitude for the swift response from law enforcement and the Shomrim patrol. Behrman relayed the father’s appreciation for the “immediate action taken by law enforcement @NYPD71Pct and @ShomrimCH, as well as their dedication and sensitivity.”
Halberstam further called upon communities worldwide to confront hate actively, stating to 1010 WINS News, “The good people of the world have to stand up and say, ‘Not here, not in my neck of the woods. I’m going to teach my children not to hate.’” Her call resonated deeply within Crown Heights, where recent incidents have heightened sensitivities around the safety of the Hasidic Jewish population, particularly their children.
