SAPD says one of the congregants slapped the suspect who had attempted to throw a punch after pulling off to the side of the road. The suspect then drove away.
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio police are investigating a confrontation between a knife-wielding man and a group of Jewish people walking home from prayer.
The incident took place just before 8 p.m. on Friday at the intersection of Northwest Military Highway and Sholom Drive.
According to police, one of the individuals recounted a man in a white Nissan pulling up to a red light shouting, “Go back to your (expletive) country you (expletive) Jews.”
According to police documents, one of the congregants told investigators the driver pulled off to the side of the road, got out of his car and ran toward him with a knife.
The targeted victim stated he dodged a punch thrown by the suspect then proceeded to slap him, resulting in his glasses falling off and knife falling to the ground.
The victim stated the suspect said he “didn’t want any trouble” before retreating to his car and driving off.
Police are now combing surveillance videos and pictures that captured the incident.
“None of us should put up with this kind of stuff and we as a Jewish community never put up with it when other folks are being disparaged or attacked,” said Winslow Swart, a member of the local Jewish community who said he knows the people caught up in the confrontation. “I know them very well, they’re members of my community, my faith community. Some of them are lifelong friends.”
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security recently issued a warning of an “elevated threat” facing the Jewish community nationwide. The alarm follows the Molotov cocktail attacks in Boulder, Colo. and the murder of Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington D.C.
In 2024, the Anti-Defamation League recorded 251 antisemitic incidents in Texas. The league has tracked 18 cases in the Lone Star State so far this year.