Long Island man charged over threats to Jewish mother and girl, 7, in kosher store

A 36-year-old man has been arrested and charged after allegedly threatening a Jewish woman and her young daughter inside a kosher store in New York, police there said. The Times of Israel reported, citing the Nassau County Police Department, that the suspect, named as Hasani Ferguson, confronted a 34-year-old mother and her 7-year-old daughter on Sunday at Bingo Wholesale, a kosher store in the town of Inwood on Long Island.

According to the police account carried by The Times of Israel, Ferguson shaped his hands like a handgun, pointed them toward the pair and made the sound of gunfire. Police say he then said "Free Palestine" and, by their account, "Heil Hitler". They also quote him as saying "Kill all Jews and kill Israel." He kept making the gun gesture as he moved closer, police say, and then fled the store, shouting "Kill the Jews" as he left. The Israeli news site Ynet also reported the arrest in a brief alert, describing a suspect who shouted that all the Jews should be killed at a mother and daughter in a kosher supermarket in New York.

The charges

Police said Ferguson was taken into custody the night before The Times of Israel published its report. According to the department, he faces three counts: a charge of threatening mass harm, a count of third-degree menacing, and a count of disorderly conduct. These are accusations brought by police. Ferguson has not been convicted of anything, and the reports do not describe any court appearance or any response from him or a lawyer acting for him.

The Nassau County Police Department also released a booking photograph of the suspect, which The Times of Israel published alongside its item. A booking photograph is the picture taken by police when a person is processed after arrest; it is not evidence of guilt.

Where this happened

Inwood is a town on Long Island, the large island that stretches east from New York City. It lies in Nassau County, whose police department is handling the case. The store named in the report, Bingo Wholesale, is described as a kosher store, meaning it sells food prepared in line with Jewish dietary law, the kind of shop that serves an observant Jewish clientele. Ynet's Hebrew alert located the incident only as "New York" and called the business a kosher supermarket; The Times of Israel's fuller account gives the town and the store's name.

The words police attributed to the suspect

The phrases police say were used combine several themes. "Heil Hitler" is the Nazi salute to Adolf Hitler. "Free Palestine" is a slogan associated with the Palestinian cause, and the call to "kill Israel" refers to the Jewish state. The remaining phrases, calling for Jews to be killed, were directed, according to police, at a mother and a child in a Jewish food store. The police account pairs these words with repeated gestures imitating a firearm, which is the conduct behind the charge of threatening mass harm.

How the two reports compare

The two organisations agree on the core of the event: an arrest in New York of a man accused of calling for the killing of Jews at a mother and daughter in a kosher food shop. They differ in detail rather than substance. Ynet's alert was a single line pointing readers to a longer item and cited one phrase. The Times of Israel's liveblog entry, drawing on the county police, named the suspect, gave the ages of all three people involved, described the hand gestures and listed several statements and the specific charges. Neither report cites a witness, the store, or the family directly; the detailed account rests on the police department alone.

What the reports do not say

• Whether the mother or her daughter was physically harmed, and how they are now; the reports describe threats and gestures, not an assault.
• Whether Ferguson has entered a plea, when he is due in court, or whether he has been released or remains held.
• Whether prosecutors intend to add charges, including any hate crime count; none is listed among the charges police announced.
• Whether any motive beyond the words police quoted has been established, or whether the suspect had any connection to the store or the family.
• Whether the store, local Jewish community bodies or elected officials have responded; no statement from any of them appears in the reports.