A man was arrested on Saturday afternoon for allegedly beating up an elderly Jewish man because of his religious background in Broward County, CBS News reports. Lauderhill Police stated in a Sunday press release that the suspect, Trevor Rodney, was arrested and charged with battery of a person 65 years of age or older, along with committing third-degree felony evidence prejudice. Around 1:30 p.m., police responded to the area of 6900 Northwest 44th Street regarding a battery incident. Upon arrival, officers found the 68-year-old victim suffering from several injuries, including "bruised eyes, several minor abrasions on the face, and severe body pain", according to CBS News . The arrest affidavit stated that the victim told police he had just left a service at a nearby synagogue and was walking along the 6400 block of the street when he was attacked unprovoked by an unidentified man. According to Lauderhill Police, the victim said the man — later identified as Rodney — yelled a "racial slur" at him during the attack. A passerby saw the attack happening, pulled over, and intervened by yelling at Rodney to stop hitting the victim, to which Rodney then stopped assaulting him and walked away. The witness called 911 and the victim spoke to the operator, stating that he was attacked "because he was Jewish," the arrest affidavit wrote, describing the attack to them. The victim then returned to the synagogue, where he and a security guard got into a vehicle to track down Rodney. Once police arrived, the victim and guard directed officers to Rodney's whereabouts and arrested him. Rodney is currently held at the Broward Sheriff's Office Main Jail. The victim was transported to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. The incident is the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents, of which there has been a sharp increase in the US in the wake of the Hamas October 7 attack and the war in Gaza which ensued. Last week, the FBI arrested an Indiana man who promised to “kill every Jew” in Fort Wayne. Related articles: Florida paper fires editor who ran anti-Israel cartoon There are too few 'straight, white non-Jews' in Democrat party Man charged for firing at two men, thinking they were Palestinian Jewish man fires at Israelis, mistaking them for Palestinians Days earlier, New York police arrested a suspect who allegedly called a man a "dirty Jew" before bashing him in the head with a baseball bat on Staten Island. In late January, a Massachusetts man was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill members of the state’s Jewish community and bomb local synagogues.
