Man With Knife and Bat Removed From Chabad Headquarters in Brooklyn

A 36-year-old Brooklyn man armed with a baseball bat and knife entered Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights on Wednesday and was removed from the building by people at the scene before police took him into custody.

No injuries were reported. Chabad officials said the incident did not appear to be connected to a wider threat against the site or the public.

? #BREAKING Another attack was thwarted at a major synagogue in Brooklyn, New York.

A man carrying a knife and a baseball bat was arrested after entering 770 Eastern Parkway on Wednesday, prompting a swift response from bystanders who confronted him and forced him out of the… https://t.co/K2P8998HZ0pic.twitter.com/w5ZIhfJVLL

— BREAKING NEWS (@TheNewsTrending) July 1, 2026

The suspect was identified as Sean Pelzer, 36, of Brooklyn. According to police, officers responded to a report of a man unlawfully inside a synagogue with a baseball bat. He was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon and criminal trespass.

Footage from the scene showed the man inside the building wearing what appeared to be a kippah while holding the bat and knife. People at the scene confronted him and moved him out of the synagogue, where he was taken into police custody.

Chabad political liaison Yaacov Behrman pushed back on early claims online that a terror attack had been thwarted, saying the man was already known to local authorities and synagogue security.

“I can confirm that an individual was removed from the Chabad Headquarters synagogue today. He is well known to the Police Department and to 770 Security, and he does not appear to be stable,” Behrman said.

“He was arrested today, and at this time, this does not appear to be related to any broader threat or security concern,” he added.

Behrman also said the man had been to the site several times before, and that Chabad management had previously filed an affidavit with police saying he was not permitted on the property.

The incident took place on a major date for the Chabad community: the 75th anniversary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, assuming leadership of the movement. Authorities have not said the date was connected to the incident.

It also came months after another security incident at the same Chabad headquarters. In January, Dan Sohail, 36, of Carteret, New Jersey, rammed a car into the building’s entrance. He later pleaded guilty in May to intentionally damaging the Chabad center. No injuries were reported in that case.

Chabad headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway is one of the most recognizable Jewish religious sites in the world and draws visitors daily. Wednesday’s incident renewed attention to security around the site, though Chabad and police indicated that the man’s arrest ended the immediate concern and that no organized threat had been identified.