The woman, identified as 39-year-old Sharee Jones, faces charges of attempted arson and reckless endangerment as a hate crime, the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes task force tweeted.
On Friday, the NYPD posted a video that shows Jones allegedly walking in front of the Yeshivah of Flatbush in Brooklyn as she holds a red gasoline canister. She then drenches the ground with gasoline and then allegedly lights up a fire.
A security guard at the school was able to put out the blaze with an extinguisher shortly after.
The NYPD confirmed the charges to Newsweek on Sunday and said that Jones was arrested in the morning and charged at Brooklyn’s 70th Precinct.
Newsweek contacted the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office for comments and further information about Jones but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.
The incident took place on Thursday night when police officers received reports of criminal mischief (arson), an NYPD spokesperson told Newsweek on Friday.
According to the spokesperson, when the police arrived on the scene, they “determined that an unidentified female poured gasoline in front of the Yeshiva and lit it on fire.”
The police also said that Jones fled the scene after she set the gasoline on fire. She left the scene on foot and went into an “unknown direction.”
The NYPD on Friday described Jones as a 5’ 4" woman with dark hair and said that she was last seen “wearing all dark-colored clothing, black shoes and carrying a red gasoline canister.”
The Yeshivah of Flatbush’s Rabbi Joseph Beyda said that the incident is a moment that students could learn from, WABC reported.
“I think you’re, you’re right to say it’s a teachable moment for all of us, and of what kind of city we want to have, and what it takes to educate, so, yeah,” he said.
The footage of Jones posted online on Friday outraged officials such as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“Last night, an unidentified individual poured gasoline in front of the Yeshiva of Flatbush & ignited it,” Hochul tweeted. “These cowardly acts of hate have no home here.”
Similarly, de Blasio described the incident as “an attack on all New Yorkers.”
“An attack on one of our yeshivas is an attack on all New Yorkers, and we WILL bring this person to justice,” he posted on Twitter Friday.
New York State Senator Simcha Felder also expressed his concerns about the incident.
“As a result of occurrences like this, it just adds to the fire-if I dare say-of these occurrences happening and happening and other times when people do know what they’re doing. That’s what we’re worried about,” he said, per WABC.
Newsweek contacted Felder for further comments but didn’t hear back in time for publication.
