Five wounded in stabbing in New York

An intruder stabbed and wounded five people at a rabbi’s house in New York during a party to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah late Saturday, officials said.

The victims, all Hasidic members of the Jewish faith, were transported to local hospitals -- two in critical condition -- the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council (OJPAC) tweeted after receiving a call at 9.50 pm. A suspect has been taken into custody and a vehicle safeguarded, a spokesman for the NYPD said.

Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, said in a statement that he was “horrified” by the “despicable and cowardly act”, and had directed the State Police hate crimes task force to investigate. “We have a zero tolerance for anti-Semitism in NY and we will hold the attacker accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” he tweeted.

CBS New York reported that a man brandishing a machete went into the rabbi’s property in Monsey, New York State, an area with a large Jewish population, and knifed at least three people before fleeing. “I was praying for my life,” witness Aron Kohn, 65, told the New York Times, describing the knife used by the attacker as “the size of a broomstick”.

Yossi Gestetner, a co-founder of the OJPAC for the Hudson Valley region, told the New York Times one of the victims was a son of the rabbi. “The house had many dozens of people in there,” Gestetner said. “It was a Hanukkah celebration.”