New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced new public safety measures to protect Jewish neighbors from hate and violence after a stabbing attack at a rabbi's house in New York that left five people wounded.
Speaking to reporters, the mayor said police have increased presence at houses of worship in several areas with large Jewish populations.
Additionally, new light towers will be built in Borough Park and new security cameras will be installed throughout all of the neighborhoods.
"We cannot and will not let attacks on our Jewish community become the new normal. That means not only responding to attacks but preventing them," he said.
At least five people were injured in a stabbing attack during Hanukkah celebrations at a rabbi's house in upstate New York on Saturday night.
Two of the wounded were critically injured with one stabbed more than six times.
U.S. President Donald Trump has responded to the stabbing and called for unity "to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism."
The suspect knifeman, identified as Grafton Thomas, 37, is in police custody and faces five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary.
Police believed he's acting alone.
"We have nothing to indicate at this time that there were other people (involved), but that will be part of a very lengthy, very methodical and thorough investigation," New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea told reporters.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (R) talks during a gathering at Grand Army Plaza in solidarity with the victims after an assailant stabbed five people attending a party at an Hasidic rabbi's home in Monsey, N.Y., on December 28, 2019./ Reuters Photo
What happened?
An assailant stormed a rabbi's suburban house in Monsey, Rockland County on Saturday night during a Hanukkah celebration that was being attended by dozens of people at about 11 p.m. on Saturday (03:00 GMT Sunday).
He then pulled out a machete and knifed several people before fleeing by car.
He was detained by two police officers in Manhattan borough in his car two hours after the attack, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) away.
About a third of the population of Rockland County is Jewish, including a large enclave of Orthodox Jews who live in secluded communities.
According to Yossi Gestetner, co-founder of the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council, the attacker had his face partially covered with a scarf when he stabbed people.
Gestetner said one of the injured was a child.
A police officer in white clothes exits a rabbi's house where five people were stabbed during Hanukkah celebrations, Monsey, New York, U.S., December 29, 2019./ Reuters Photo
What has been the response?
Speaking to reporters outside the rabbi's home in Monsey on Sunday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called the stabbing an "act of domestic terrorism."
"This is terrorism, it is domestic terrorism," Cuomo told reporters. "These are people who intend to create mass harm, mass violence, generate fear based on race, color, creed."
Mayor Bill de Blasio called the stabbing "horrific" and vowed to stop such attacks.
"We will NOT allow this to become the new normal. We'll use every tool we have to stop these attacks once and for all," he said in a Twitter post.
After the incident, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack and promised to offer assistance with local authorities in countering anti-Semitism.
Miguel Moratinos, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) also denounced the anti-Semitic attack, saying hate crimes like this should come to stop and not be tolerated.
(With input from agencies)