The Jewish man who was stabbed in the chest in New York City this week is now speaking out, saying, "I believe in standing up to bullies" and that the suspect was threatening violence against Jews.
Elias Rosner, 35, was identified by the New York Post as the victim in Tuesday’s attack in Brooklyn. He told the newspaper that the suspect said, "I’m going to kill a Jew today," before the stabbing.
"I was waiting in a crowd of Jewish people and this guy started spouting stuff," Rosner said, adding that the man also referenced the Holocaust. "I guess I was the one guy that had the bravery to look him in the eye."
Police released images and a brief video of the suspect, who remains unidentified. Authorities have said the victim got into a dispute with the suspect after an apparently random encounter on the street. The victim's injuries were not life-threatening, and he received care at a nearby hospital.
The incident is being investigated by the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, police say.
"At approximately 4:10 P.M., in the vicinity of Kingston Avenue and Lincoln Place, in the confines of the 77th Precinct, a 35-year-old male victim was walking when he was approached by an unidentified individual. The unidentified individual made anti-Jewish statements and then proceeded to stab the victim in the chest with a knife," police told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Footage of the incident circulating on social media shows the two men squaring off in a minutes-long dispute. The would-be victim followed the suspect after their confrontation initially broke off, at which point the suspect allegedly turned and stabbed at the victim.
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"So, he was waiting. He set a trap up for me a block ahead. He came around the corner and it just started happening," Rosner told the New York Post.
"So, he brandishes his knife … I’ve been standing all day, and between fight, freeze and flight. I really only had to choose between freeze and fight, and I chose to fight," he continued.
"I believe in standing up to bullies," Rosner told the New York Post. "I knew it was on. I luckily had taken off my sweater to use as a sarong to catch the blade. I could just tell he wasn’t going to be doing anything fancy…."
"I was able to catch most of the force of the blade with the sweater and that’s basically what saved my life," he added.
