Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

New Video Surfaces of Arson Suspect Targeting Queens Bukharian Jews

New York City cops have released a new video of a suspect in the string of arson fires targeting Bukharian Jews in Queens — and he’s carrying a gun.

The grainy video does not give a clear image of the perp — his face is hidden by his hoodie — but he does appear to have a distinct gait.

In the video, the gloved perp stoops over at one point and pulls a concealdcd handgun from his ankle — a weapon that he then puts into his pocket.

Local CBS2 News reports that the video was turned over by a homeowner in the stricken Forest Hills neighborhood.

“They looked at it. They said it’s a very good clue,” said the man, Eli Solomon. “I hope it’s going to help the cops to catch the guy.”

Here is the list of seven arsons that have hit homes, which were under construction, in the Bukharian enclave:

  • Incident #1 – At approximately 1930 hours on Sunday, November 8, 2015 at 68-60 112 Street.
  • Incident #2 – At approximately 2210 hours on Sunday, – November 15, 2015 at 112-35 69 Road.
  • Incident #3 – At approximately 1830 hours on Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 108-43 66 Avenue.
  • Incident #4 – At approximately 2312 hours on Wednesday, November 25, 2015 at 108-43 67 Drive.
  • Incident #5 – At approximately 0018 hours on Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 112-35 69 Road.
  • Incident #6 – At approximately 2227 hours on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 70-35 113 Street.
  • Incident #7 – At approximately 2000 hours on Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 108-13 67 Road.

RELATED: Elite arson squad assigned to case.

A $12,500 reward is being offered for info leading to an arrest. Members of the public are urged to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (8477), or log in to NYPDCrimeStoppers.com if they can help.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.