A man told a Jewish colleague that she was in a "gas chamber", according to the police

March 22, 2019, 18:00 GMT

By Associated press

ALBANY, NY – The arrest of a New York man accused of harassing a Jewish colleague at a health food store is the latest episode of a growing number of people. 39 Antisemitic episodes reported in New York, announced Friday Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The Democrat joined state police commissioner Keith Corlett in announcing the arrest of William Sullivan, 21, of Saugerties, on charges of aggravated harassment.

Police said the conflict took place on March 11th at Mother & # 39; s Earth store in Ulster, near Kingston, 50 km south of Albany. The employee was in the cooler with another colleague when Sullivan appeared in the doorway, turned off the lights and said, "You're in the gas chamber now," then insulted his Jewish faith with angry horsemen. I said.

Corlett stated that the woman had spoken to her management about the meeting and then reported it to the police, who had not revealed the woman's name.

Shop owner Kevin Schneider told the Kingston Daily Freeman that Sullivan had been fired and the woman had resigned. Schneider, who also owns shops in nearby towns, Saugerties and Poughkeepsie, has not responded to a call for details.

The company, 40, has released a statement on Facebook, apologizing for the community's "tremendous annoyance."

"The situation has been managed and the employee is no longer at our service," the statement said. "We have never tolerated hatred and we will never tolerate this hate."

The soldiers stated that Sullivan had received a ticket and was released. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. It was not clear if Sullivan had a lawyer who could comment.

Although it is unusual for the governor to participate in press conferences announcing an arrest for misdemeanor, the Cuomo office said that he had gone to Kingston to draw attention to the rise of anti-Semitic episodes in the state this year. Cuomo described the latter as sad, disturbing and frightening.

"Frankly, what aggravates the situation is that it is not an isolated situation," he said. "We are seeing an increasing number of anti-Semitic activities."

Cuomo said that there had been about 10 similar cases since the beginning of January, including separate attacks against three orthodox Jewish men in Brooklyn and the degradation of public spaces in New York and Long Island with swastikas.

The governor also mentioned the massive shooting in a Pittsburgh mosque in October that claimed the lives of 11 worshipers and the massacre of 50 Muslims last week in two mosques in New Zealand, as a "hate virus" that spreads in the whole world.

"This is an issue of concern to everyone," said Cuomo, a Catholic who said his two brothers-in-law were Jewish.