A spokesman for Chabad said that the victim is Jewish, and the NYPD is reportedly probing the incident as a potential hate crime. The department told JNS on Tuesday that no arrest had been made and the investigation is ongoing. (JNS sought further comment from the department. The Chabad spokesman’s social media account states that he speaks personally and not for the movement.)

The Chabad spokesman added that the victim “reportedly heard the attacker cursing Jews as he passed.” A “verbal exchange” ensued, “escalating into a back-and-forth before the stabbing occurred,” the spokesman said.

The neighborhood where the incident occurred is heavily Jewish Crown Heights. The intersection is a block away from Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters and the Jewish Children’s Museum, and is close to many synagogues.

The NYPD told JNS that it received a 911 call about the incident at about 4:10 p.m.

Footage that circulated on social media appeared to show the victim taking his coat off to try to use it to thwart the assailant’s attacks.

“If you are stabbed because of who you are and are told it’s OK if 6 million of your people were murdered, everyone would be shocked. And if that happened two days after a terrorist slaughtered 15 and injured dozens more of your people for gathering together to celebrate, everyone would be horrified,” stated Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee.

“If that happened after your people were murdered in May and in June and in October because of who they are, everyone would be outraged. And you would take your shock and horror and outrage, and you would turn to that community and say for everyone to hear, ‘We are with you, and this must end,’” he said. “This is the world for Jews right now. Stand with us to stop this. We need everyone.”