Story by Ethan
On April 1st, 2026, the arrest of Neil Hurlock, age 20, was announced by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Neil Hurlock was charged with second-degree Aggravated Harassment, second and third-degree Robbery as a Hate Crime, second and third-degree Robbery, third-degree Assault as a Hate Crime, third-degree Assault, third-degree Menacing as a Hate Crime, third-degree Menacing, Petite Larceny, and Petite Larceny as a Hate Crime. The arrest and charges against Neil Hurlock were a result of an investigation handled by NYPD Detective Steven Acevedo of the Hate Crimes Task Force.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, at approximately 10:45 a.m. on March 2nd, 2026, Neil Hurlock, who was wearing a full-face black mask, was in the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays subway station when the victim boarded an N-train headed towards Coney Island, New York. The defendant followed the victim to the train and positioned himself in front of the train door and allegedly punched him in the face while calling the victim a “F—ing Jew”. Neil Hurlock allegedly continued the assault with several other punches to the victim’s face and body, including throwing the victim against subway seats in the train car. Neil Hurlock was captured on video surveillance from the time he left his residence to the time he got off the N-train heading towards Astoria, New York, after it arrived in Canal, New York. At the time of the alleged assault the victim was wearing religious clothing, including a gartel and a kippah, and reading religious text. Allegedly Neil Hurlock stole the kippah from the victim’s head when exiting the train car in Canal, New York, however the defendant’s phone fell out of his pocket which the victim was able to recover. After the defendant fled the victim remained on the train until it arrived at the 56th Street station where he called 911 and was transported to SUNY Downstate Hospital to receive treatment for pain, bruising, swelling, and cuts on his head, body, and hands. An investigation was launched after Neil Hurlock’s phone was recovered by detectives following an interview with the victim. The defendant was arrested without incident after a search warrant was executed on the phone which revealed its phone number.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Neil Hurlock are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
