Driver faces hate crime charge after allegedly crashing into Chabad Jewish center in New York
A car crashed into the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn on Wednesday evening. (WABC)
(BROOKLYN) — A New Jersey man is facing attempted assault as a hate crime and other charges after police said he repeatedly drove his car into the back of Chabad World Headquarters in Brooklyn.
Police were already assigned to a detail at the Chabad in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood when they heard a commotion in the building’s main entrance Wednesday evening, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. When officers responded, they saw a car strike the rear door, reverse and then strike the door again.
Video showed the suspect, 36-year-old Dan Sohail, get out of his Honda Accord after the crash and tell the crowd, “I dunno, it slipped! It slipped, you f—— a——!” Sohail appeared to spit at the crowd as NYPD officers led him toward their police cruiser.
No one was hurt but the building was evacuated as a precaution.
“The hate crime right now is that he basically attacked a Jewish institution,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. “He knew it was a synagogue.”
Kenny said Sohail visited the Chabad World Headquarters previously before he returned Wednesday night.
According to Jewish community leaders, Sohail told police he had been to synagogues in New York and New Jersey in recent months, asking how he could convert and looking for spiritual guidance. They said he seemed like he had studied Judaism as a way to deal with the problems he was having in life.
No explosives or other devices were found in the suspect’s car, police said.
The incident occurred during a Chabad holiday, when thousands of people from around the world were gathered at the headquarters, New York Attorney General Letitia James told reporters.
The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey said in a statement that it was “deeply disturbed.”
At a news conference, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it a “horrifying incident” and said “antisemitism has no place in our society.”
Alvin Bragg, Manhattan district attorney, speaks during the National Action Network (NAN) 35th Anniversary Convention in New York, April 8, 2026. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Meta is failing to remove imposter accounts from its Facebook and WhatsApp platforms that “have led to tens of thousands of dollars of fraudulent transfers” in a growing scam across the country, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Bragg is the latest prosecutor to go public with criticism of Meta for failing to protect the public from criminals lurking on its social media platforms. New Mexico recently won a $375 million civil case that held Meta liable for failing to police its sites for child predators, and a jury in Los Angeles found Meta, along with Google, liable for a 20-year-old woman’s social media addiction.
In one of the latest scams, phony Facebook and WhatsApp accounts pose as organizations like Catholic Charities that offer pro bono legal services. The scammers behind those accounts claim to be lawyers offering immigration services, coaxing money from unsuspecting victims, Bragg said.
His office is getting, on average, a complaint a month and the scam has become so prevalent that Catholic Charities chapters in Trenton, Houston and Baltimore have posted warnings on their Facebook pages.
In some instances, scammers create public Facebook accounts that mirror real accounts belonging to pro bono legal services organizations, Bragg said. In others, they create WhatsApp profiles posing as immigration lawyers associated with those same organizations, frequently using the names and logos of legitimate organizations to give the appearance of credibility. “These imposter accounts have led to tens of thousands of dollars of fraudulent transfers. Scammers frequently target immigrant populations because they are perceived to be, and often are, more vulnerable to fraud and in need of a specific type of legal assistance,” Bragg said in a letter to Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg demanding the company take action after requests to remove false profiles were declined.
“Your company has made representations about the importance of the safety and security of your platform for its users,” Bragg’s letter said. “If you sincerely wish to protect the safety of your users from fraud, we urge you to take necessary, proactive steps.”
Bragg urged Meta to allow law enforcement agencies to report imposter accounts, suspend suspect accounts and ensure that users claiming to represent organizations that provide legal services are really where they say they are.
He also requested a meeting with Zuckerberg or his representatives to assure compliance.
Meta said that users are not permitted to misrepresent their identity to mislead or deceive others, but that bad actors are constantly changing the ways in which they violate Meta’s policies. As a result, Meta said, the company strives to keep scammers off its platforms and is investing in new technology, partnering with experts and other companies, and constantly working to update its detection and enforcement systems so users can feel safe.
In an interview with ABC News, Bragg urged caution to users seeking legal services.
“If there’s a lawyer who only wants to meet virtually and can’t give you a business address, that’s a red flag,” Bragg told ABC News. “Catholic Charities, these other organizations that are not-for-profits, they provide these services for free. So just the asking of money in and of itself is something that can be a red flag.”
Dwight Rust Jr. was charged this week with the first-degree murder of his wife, Michelle Rust. (Baltimore County Police Department)
(BALTIMORE, Md.) — Dwight Rust Jr. this week appeared virtually for his first appearance in a Maryland court, a day after being arrested for the first-degree murder of his wife, Michelle Rust, 24 years ago.
Baltimore County District Court Judge Krystin Richardson ruled in favor of prosecutors pushing to hold Rust, 48 without bail on Wednesday afternoon. He remains held at the Baltimore County Detention Center.
Rust first reported his wife missing on July 20, 2002, as the couple was preparing for their 3-year-old son’s birthday party. He said that Michelle Rust had left around 9:30 a.m. that morning to pick up some last-minute items from Walmart, but never returned. She was 24 years old at the time, and her body has never been found.
It is unclear what evidence might have led investigators to arrest Dwight Rust Jr. early Tuesday. The criminal indictment, obtained by ABC News, reveals little about why prosecutors believe Rust was responsible for her murder. In the indictment, Rust is charged with murdering his wife sometime “on or about” July 19 and July 20, 2002.
State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger declined to comment beyond the indictment. A spokesperson for the Baltimore County Police Department also declined to comment further.
In the bail review hearing on Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Jacey Sheckells argued that Rust was attempting to start a new life with another woman when his wife went missing. According to Sheckells, Rust was having an affair with the woman.
Prosecutors requested that Rust be held without bail due to concerns he might try to intimidate witnesses.
Rust’s attorney, Jeremy Eldridge, denied the state’s allegations, maintaining Rust’s innocence.
“Having an affair with somebody doesn’t mean you’re going to murder,” he told ABC News after the hearing on Wednesday afternoon. “The state’s own witnesses, a lot of them, knew that he was ending the marriage. If people know that you’re breaking up with somebody, you’re not going to go and murder them. That doesn’t make any sense.”
In the years since, Rust has remarried and has been working for an HVAC company in the area.
“He has cooperated with law enforcement at every turn,” Eldridge said. “He’s given multiple statements and anything that the police have ever wanted or asked of him, he’s done without reservation.”
In cooperating over the past 24 years, Eldridge said Rust has also agreed to property searches by authorities.
When Michelle Rust failed to return from the trip to Walmart in 2002, Dwight Rust Jr. called her parents to see if she had stopped by their home. The family all together set out to search for Michelle Rust at nearby Walmart stores, but found no trace of her.
Her father-in-law, Dwight Rust Sr., found her green 1998 Dodge Caravan abandoned on a road that was just 10 minutes from their home. According to police, the ignition key had been broken off in the door. Investigators were unable to find the rest of that key chain, or any of the clothing and jewelry Michelle Rust was wearing when she went missing.
As Michelle Rust was diabetic and needed insulin, hundreds of family members, friends and volunteers quickly joined searches through woods, hospitals and pharmacies in the area to locate her.
Within months, still with no sign of Michelle Rust, police announced that they had concluded foul play was involved in her disappearance. The family also offered a $10,000 reward for any information related to the investigation.
A year after her disappearance, The Baltimore Sun reported that police had not yet ruled out Dwight Rust Jr. as a suspect.
“We pray and hope he is not responsible,” Ray Lins, Michelle’s father, told The Sun at the time.
In 2023, investigators returned to hunt for new evidence in the case. A group of forensic science students from Towson University assisted by using ground-penetrating radar to search for soil disturbance in the backyards of two properties. These homes formerly belonged to the couple and to Dwight Rust Jr.’s parents just next door.
“There’s no finality. Twenty-four hours a day, it goes through your mind: Where is she?” Michelle Rust’s father, Ray Lins, told The Sun in 2003. “People use the word closure. We love her. We miss her. And we don’t know what happened.”
When reached by phone on Wednesday afternoon, Ray and Gwen Lins declined to comment.
Rust faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for first-degree murder if convicted.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Monday, April 27.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced on Sunday that a woman missing in Arizona is the mother of “Today Show” host Savannah Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department)
(NEW YORK) — An 84-year-old woman who was reported missing in Arizona has been identified by officials as the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced during a news conference on Sunday that Nancy Guthrie was last seen in the Catalina Foothills area on Saturday night at approximately 9:45 p.m.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said a family member reported her missing on Sunday, around noon.
Nanos said search and rescue teams have been out at Nancy Gutherie’s home, along with homicide teams and detectives.
Foul play is notbeing ruled out at this time, he said.
Nancy Guthrie is described as having some physical ailments, but does not have cognitive issues, her family said, according to the sheriff.
An NBCUniversal spokesperson confirmed early on Monday that Nancy Guthrie was missing.
“We can confirm this is a missing persons case, and the family is working closely with local law enforcement,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “If anyone has any information, please contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900. The family is grateful for the outreach, thoughts and prayers.”
ABC News’ Cecilie Larcher contributed to this report.
