Several of the people gathered at a Hanukkah celebration likely saved the lives of their peers by throwing furniture at a man as he attacked the Jewish gathering with a machete Saturday night.
Josef Gluck, 32, recounted the horrific attack that took place on the seventh night of the Jewish festival. In an interview with the New York Times, Gluck explained that the attacker, who has been identified by police as Grafton Thomas, 37, shouted, “I’ll get you,” as he continued to swing his machete.
“At the beginning, he started wielding his machete back and forth, trying to hit everyone around,” Gluck explained, later adding, “I grabbed an old antique coffee table, and I threw it at his face.”
Gluck and his fellow worshipers forced Thomas to flee the home by continuing to beam him with pieces of furniture. In total, five of the Hasidic Jews gathered to celebrate Hanukkah were harmed in the attack. Two are still in serious condition.
Thomas was arrested by authorities two hours after the attack took place. He was found after authorities tracked his license plate to his home address, which was north of Monsey, New York, where the attack took place. Thomas pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary during his arraignment on Sunday morning, and a judge set his bail at $5 million.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the attack an “act of domestic terrorism” during a press conference Sunday morning.
“We have seen enough in New York,” Cuomo said. “This is violence spurred by hate. It is mass violence, and I consider this an act of domestic terrorism. Let’s call it what it is. These people are domestic terrorists, and the law should reflect that, and they should be punished as if it was an act of terrorism.”
President Trump also condemned the attack, vowing to “fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism” in a tweet expressing his condolences.
