Man charged with hate crime in violent attack on Jewish students at DePaul
DePaul University attack: Man charged with hate crime in violent attack on Jewish students
A suburban man has been charged in the attack on two Jewish students on DePaul University’s campus late last year.
CHICAGO - A suburban man has been charged in the attack on two Jewish students on DePaul University’s campus late last year.
Adam Erkan, 20, was charged Thursday with two counts of hate crime and two counts of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, all felonies. He is not a DePaul University student.
Erkan, of Hoffman Estates, has a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday. Police are still looking for the second suspect involved in the attack.
Adam Erkan | Chicago police
DePaul students attacked
The backstory:
The attack occurred Nov. 6, when Max Long and Michael Kaminsky were assaulted while peacefully advocating for Israel on DePaul’s campus, according to a previous FOX 32 report.
Police said Erkan approached Long while wearing a black face covering and made antisemitic remarks before striking Long and attacking Kaminsky who was trying to help.
Long, an Israeli Defense Forces reservist, lost consciousness and suffered a brain injury, while Kaminsky sustained a fractured wrist requiring surgery. Video footage captured part of the altercation.
According to the police report, Erkan was seen on surveillance footage fleeing the area in a 2011 Silver Toyota RAV-4.
His father identified him in the surveillance video to police, according to prosecutors.
Erkan was arrested on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. outside his residence.
Jewish students attacked on DePaul campus sue university
Two Jewish students who were attacked at DePaul University last November announced a lawsuit against the school on Wednesday.
DePaul University officials issued a statement Thursday on the case, shared below:
"We are extremely grateful for the work of the police who investigated this case and apprehended the suspect. The suspect is not a member of the DePaul community. We are also grateful to the prosecutors in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for ensuring the suspect will have to account for his actions in court. Acts of hate and violence have no place at DePaul. We condemn antisemitism in all its forms and stand in solidarity with those affected by this reprehensible act. For more on how DePaul is confronting antisemitism, please visit go.depaul.edu/stopantisemitism."
Lawsuit Filed:
Earlier this month, Long and Kaminsky filed a lawsuit against DePaul University with The Lawfare Project.
"Since October 7th, DePaul University has allowed the violent antisemitic rhetoric permeating throughout its campus to continue to escalate and go unchecked," Jaclyn Clark from the Lawfare Project said on April 2. "Our history has shown us that violent rhetoric against Jews leads to violent action, and we have seen this play out before our eyes on college campuses like DePaul, where Jewish students like Max and Michael are viewed as legitimate targets for physical violence."
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.