Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced increased security measures across New York City ahead of Hanukkah celebrations, citing a series of violent incidents at home and abroad, including a deadly antisemitic terrorist attack in Sydney, Australia.
Speaking Sunday afternoon, Adams addressed multiple killings reported within the past 24 hours, including a mass shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island, a Brooklyn shooting that wounded six teenagers attending a Sweet 16 party, and the overseas attack that targeted Jews celebrating Hanukkah.
Adams said the Sydney attack, which killed more than a dozen people and injured dozens more, was an antisemitic act aimed at Jewish worshippers marking the holiday.
"The last 24 hours, we've witnessed a tragedy that has swept our entire globe," Adams told reporters. "We went to sleep with the horrific report of a mass shooting at Brown University. We woke up in the middle of the night to the news of a local one: Six individuals, teenagers, young people were shot in Brooklyn.
"We woke up this morning to hear about a devastating terrorist attack in [Australia]."
Adams said his city is surging counterterrorism and specialized NYPD units around synagogues, menorah lightings, and Jewish institutions, emphasizing the importance of maintaining public safety amid rising global antisemitism.
He underscored the role of specialized police units in responding to terror threats and warned against minimizing extremist violence.
"But this attack did not come out of nowhere. It came out as the consequences of Islamic extremists," Adams said. "And we have to be clear on that. It's not an attack on our Muslim brothers and sisters, who carry out their faith every day, but is the hijacking of their religion by Islamic extremists.
"Words have meaning. Words have impact, and words have power. Everyone needs to understand what words mean before they repeat them, before they shout them, before they defend them."
Adams took a veiled shot at his successor, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who has refused to condemn "globalize the intifada" talk worldwide.
"That attack in Sydney is exactly what it means to globalize intifada," Adams said. "We saw the actual application of the globalization of intifada in Sydney because the attacker knew who he was targeting and he knew why.
"It is the first night of Hanukkah, the festival of lights where Jews are obligated to publicize the celebration of their faith. And among the murdered victims of the attack [was] a rabbi who had ties to Crown Heights, as well as a Holocaust survivor. Let me say that again. A rabbi and a Holocaust survivor killed for being Jewish.
"Antisemitism has no place in our city, in our society, and in our world.
"And I will continue to fight for this community and all communities of this city and for fellow brothers and sisters from the Jewish community. For the past four years, this administration has stood by the Jewish community, not just as the mayor, but as an ally, as a father, and as a human being."
Adams also took shots at Mamdani's agenda to dismantle aggressive policing and local security.
"I do know this: Specialized units play a primary role and function to go and respond to terrorist attacks of this nature," Adams said. "It is ill-advised to talk about the dismantling of the SRG team, the same team that went into 345 Park Avenue, when we had now a lone gunman that took the lives of innocent New Yorkers.
"It took the courage of a civilian to take down one of the shooters. The country was lucky that the civilian was there. Public safety can't be luck. Specialized units like SRG are trained for these encounters. And this illustrates the necessity of the strategic response groups who are ready to respond to terror attacks on a mass scale."
Commissioner Tisch provided details on the Brooklyn shooting, which occurred early Sunday morning outside a Cypress Hills event venue. Two unidentified suspects opened fire on a crowd, striking six teenagers ages 15-17.
None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening, and investigators say the incident appears gang-related.
"Our hearts are with the victims, their families, Chabad, and Jewish communities here and around the world," Tisch said. "Since the attack occurred, the NYPD has been in continuous contact with our law enforcement partners in Australia and we are receiving updates directly from our NYPD liaison officer stationed in Sydney.
"We are closely monitoring developments as more verified information becomes available. This too remains an active investigation."
Tisch also confirmed that two people were killed and nine injured in the Brown University shooting, with no known connection to New York City. As a precaution, the NYPD has increased patrols at colleges and universities citywide.
While officials said there is no known nexus to New York City and no specific credible threats tied to local Hanukkah events, the NYPD has significantly expanded its security posture. Enhanced uniform patrols, counterterrorism officers, heavy weapons teams, bomb squads, and community affairs officers are being deployed across all five boroughs.
Tisch credited the NYPD's international liaison program for providing real-time intelligence from Australia, letting the department adjust security plans overnight.
Both Adams and Tisch reaffirmed the city's commitment to protecting Jewish New Yorkers and ensuring they can celebrate Hanukkah openly and safely, urging the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity.
Newsmax writer Eric Mack contributed to this report.
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