A Woman Is Charged With Hate-Crime Assaults on Two Jewish Men in Midtown. Prosecutors Say She Picked Both Because She Believed They Were Jewish.
Anna Mochalova, 32, of Brooklyn, was arraigned Sunday in Manhattan Criminal Court on hate-crime assault and related counts over two attacks on Jewish men in Midtown on Wednesday, October 21. She is presumed innocent, and her Legal Aid lawyer told the court there “may be an ID issue.”
The first victim, a 26-year-old Chabad rabbinical student whom the New York Post calls a rabbi, was cut in the lower back outside 15 West 47th Street with what police first called “possibly a syringe.” What was in it has not been reported.
- 2 — Jewish men allegedly attacked in the Midtown incident, a 26-year-old and a 37-year-old · Source: Fox News Digital, from the complaint
- 1 — third man, who told her he was Muslim, was apologized to and left alone, prosecutors say · Source: Fox News Digital
- 53% — of New York City's confirmed hate crimes from January through September 2026 were anti-Jewish, 245 of 463 · Source: NYPD figures reported by Israel National News
- Oct. 29 — the defendant's next court date · Source: Fox News Digital
According to the complaint as reported by Fox News Digital, the first victim, in Hasidic dress, was followed on West 47th Street in the Diamond District around 5:50 p.m., cornered against a vehicle and cut in the lower back. He felt a sharp sting and was taken to Bellevue by Hatzalah, the volunteer ambulance service, where he was treated and released. Surveillance video released by Manhattan Shomrim, a volunteer neighborhood patrol, shows a woman following him around a parked car.
The second alleged victim, 37 and wearing a yarmulke, was bumped from behind and cut on the right forearm nearby, according to Fox. Prosecutors say she told him, “run away from here. I have a gun. I’m going to shoot you.” A third man told her he was Muslim, and prosecutors say she apologized and walked away.
“She selected both of her targets because she believed them to be Jewish.”
Manhattan prosecutors at arraignment · Oct. 25, 2026 · as reported by the New York Post
Manhattan Shomrim announced the arrest on Saturday, October 24, crediting its volunteers, the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force and public tips. The post below reported the charge the next day.
Update: Anna Mochalova, 32, has been arrested and charged with assault as a hate crime after stabbing a Rabbi with a syringe in NYC earlier this week. [the account's description of the weapon and the victim; the weapon is unconfirmed]
Several load-bearing details conflict between outlets. The weapon is unconfirmed: the NYPD said “possibly a syringe,” the Post headline says “stabbing,” and no report describes the contents. The timing of the second attack is also disputed. The NYPD and the Post’s first version placed it about two hours earlier near 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, while the complaint as reported by Fox puts it roughly five minutes apart, near 45th Street and Sixth Avenue; the Post’s headline now says “minutes later.”
Bail is reported three ways: $50,000 by the Post; $50,000 cash or $150,000 bond, half what prosecutors sought, by Fox; and “released on $150,000 bail” by COLlive. We could not establish whether she is in custody. Judge Linda Capitti set it, per the Post, and Assistant District Attorney Emily Hong argued the case.
COLlive reports she was arrested in Crown Heights in June 2025 after allegedly smashing a man’s phone at a yeshiva entrance. Her defense, per the Post, says she has no prior arrests, and the disposition of any earlier case is not reported, so this page does not call her a repeat offender. Fox reports an NYPD officer recognized her from “previous interactions.”
NYPD figures reported on October 7 count 463 confirmed hate crimes from January through September 2026, up nearly 13% on the same stretch of 2025. Of those, 245 were anti-Jewish, 53%, against 242 a year earlier. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the numbers “deeply concerning.”
The counter-fact belongs beside it: the same report puts anti-Jewish incidents in the third quarter at 59 of 125, down from 68 in the third quarter of 2025. Since April the NYPD has also separated “reported” from “confirmed” hate crimes, per the Algemeiner, so older comparisons are not like for like. No source we found connects any city policy or statement to this case.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-NYC) — Told Jewish Insider in August, “There’s no room for hate in our city. It will never be tolerated, it will never be accepted.” We found no statement from him on this case.
Commissioner Jessica Tisch — Heads the NYPD under Mayor Mamdani (D), whose Hate Crimes Task Force worked the case alongside Manhattan Shomrim volunteers.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg (D)’s office — Prosecuting the case. Arraignment was before Judge Linda Capitti; the next date is October 29.
Chabad headquarters liaison Yaacov Behrman said, “We appreciate law enforcement’s response.” A Manhattan Shomrim coordinator told the Post that “having her back outside is just a danger to everybody outside,” though the bail reports above conflict on whether she is in custody.
Prosecutors allege a targeted pair of attacks on Jewish men, and volunteers and detectives found the suspect within days. The weapon, the timeline, the bail figure and her record are still disputed in the reporting, and she is presumed innocent.
