“I'll Kill You!”: Manager Threatened and Punched Outside His Jewish Bookstore in NYC: Police

The manager of a Jewish bookstore on the Upper West Side was threatened and punched outside of his business by a man claiming to be a Muslim, police said.

The beating happened around 1:15 p.m. Monday outside West Side Judaica and Bookstore at 2412 Broadway, council member Mark Levine and police confirmed.

Bookstore manager Salmon Salczer, 52, saw the suspect pacing and screaming outside the store. When he went to check on him, the suspect allegedly screamed, "F--- you Jew. I'll kill you. I'm a Muslim!"

The suspect then punched Salczer in the face before taking off on a scooter, according to police.

“This terrible incident is a stark reminder that no neighborhood in New York City is immune from the mounting threat of anti-Semitic attacks,” Levine said.

The attack has shocked the neighborhood, where Salczer and his family have been for more than 30 years.

"Everybody comes in, everybody really loves these people," Rabbi Rolando Matalone, a friend of Salczer, said.

Police were outside the store Tuesday talking with employees as the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force continues to investigate the incident. Signs of Hanukkah were in the windows of the shop.

"This is a very Jewish neighborhood and we don't expect things like that to happen here," Upper West Side resident Ben Rothfeld said.

Rothfeld got his marriage license at the shop 14 years ago. He's saddened that someone would target a small family business that's beloved by the community.

"It's terrible," Rothfeld said.

"Hate doesn't have any borders. You can find it anywhere," Efrom Adler, an Upper West Side resident, said.

The suspect is still on the loose. He's believed to be about 20-years-old.

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