Maryland rabbi attacked with wooden stake as police investigate it as a hate crime

Police in Maryland are investigating an attack on a rabbi as a hate crime after a man attacked with a wooden stake, authorities said.

The incident took place at approximately 9:53 a.m. on the 1400 block of Arcola Avenue in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Tuesday when officers from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 4th District responded to reports of an assault.

“The investigation revealed that the victim, who is a rabbi, was walking on the sidewalk on Arcola Avenue when he encountered the suspect,” according to a statement from the Montgomery County Police Department. “For unknown reasons, the male suspect, identified as 47-year-old Junior Michael Reece, swung a wooden stake at the victim, striking him.”

Reece then reportedly left the area but was located a short while later by the 4th District officers and taken into custody not far from where the attack took place, police said.

Reece was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and police confirmed that the attack is being investigated as a hate crime, authorities said.

The Montgomery County Police Department said that the unnamed rabbi suffered minor injuries from the assault and that the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.

Reece, who has no fixed address, was taken to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit after the attack and charged with felony assault and related crimes.

The investigation is currently ongoing.