Cops Shoot Stabbing Suspect Inside Prominent Synagogue | New York Post

Police shot and killed a disturbed man after he walked into a prominent Brooklyn synagogue and stabbed someone there, sources said.

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From 'Cops fatally shoot synagogue attacker'

Stabbing victim Levi Rosenblat was in stable condition at Kings County Hospital.

The bloodshed at the world headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights happened shortly after 1 a.m., sources said.

A Chabad spokesman said witnesses reported that the man said “Kill the Jews,” but police said the man might have shouted, “I will kill all of you.” One witness told The Post that the man did not talk about killing Jews.

Calvin Peters, 49, walked into the basement of the synagogue, where people were praying, law enforcement sources said.

“According to witnesses, he was heard saying repeatedly, ‘Kill the Jews!’” Chabad Rabbi Motti Seligson said.

Seligson said the victim was Levi Rosenblat, a young rabbinical student from Israel. The 22-year-old was in stable condition at Bellevue, law enforcement sources said.

Peters had 19 prior arrests dating to 1982 for a wide variety of crimes in New York City, Nassau County and Delaware, according to law enforcement records.

The offenses included jumping a turnstile, larceny, possession of a controlled substance, using a credit card that wasn’t his, contempt of court and burglary.

Peters had a listed address in Valley Stream, LI, and a man who answered the phone there said the attacker’s family was in mourning.

Later on Tuesday afternoon at that Valley Stream home, a man who identified himself only as Peters’ brother-in-law briefly spoke to reporters.

John Miller, deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, said police believe this attack was an “isolated incident.”

Peters was last seen by loved ones at 11 a.m. Monday, leaving his Long Island home for a dental appointment that he never made, law enforcement sources said.

Peters, a former Brooklyn resident, was spotted in that borough Monday afternoon by a friend, sources said.

Then at about 5:15 p.m. Monday, Peters first visited the synagogue and appeared to be “highly suspicious,” according to security guard Shimon Liberow.

At one point, Peters said he wanted to convert to Judaism, but the guard and nearby worshipers didn’t buy it.

Peters then got into a silver Nissan Rogue and drove a short distance away. Police found the SUV hours after the attack and towed it away.

He returned at 12:45 a.m. Tuesday and asked if they had any books in English.

He was told no and then “escorted out,” law enforcement sources said.

Peters’ final return came at 1:36 a.m., when he entered the building, walked up to Rosenblat and said, “I’m going to kill you,” sources said.

The 49-year-old suspect asked for a Bible before stabbing an Israeli student in the side of the head.

He stabbed Rosenblat in the left temple and inflicted lesser wounds to the left side of his face, sources said.

Witness Israel Gottdenger, 26, told The Post that Peters nonchalantly strolled into the synagogue without giving any hint about the mayhem that was to follow.

Rosenblat was so immersed in reading religious text, he never saw the attack coming.

Another witness flagged down cops who were passing the headquarters.

Officers then confronted the man in an encounter that was captured on a dramatic video.

As Peters brandishes the knife, the first officer to respond — Timothy Donohue — pulls his weapon, prompting onlookers at the synagogue to say, “Hey officer, don’t do it” and implore Peters to drop the knife.

After several demands from the officer, Peters then puts the 9-inch knife down on a table and puts his hands up, prompting Donohue to holster his gun.

It appeared as if the encounter had been defused. But Peters suddenly grabs the knife again, prompting the officer to shout, “Stay the f–k away from the knife now.”

“At that point, the male subject picked up the knife and advanced the officer,” NYPD Chief of Department James O’Neill said.

Other officers then appear in the video as Peters storms around, brandishing the knife.

Then, moments later, a single shot is heard, after the camera turns away from the chaotic incident.

Peter was within 10 feet of officers when he lunged at them and Officer Roberto Pagan shot the maniac, law enforcement sources said.

Another video shows officers standing over the man as he was handcuffed.

Tuesday’s attack might have exposed a shortcoming in the city’s mental health system, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

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