Gary Worthy, a career criminal with a history of violent offenses, was shot and killed in a confrontation with police Tuesday night in Queens, just months after a judge released him without bail despite multiple requests to detain him from prosecutors and his parole officer. The 57-year-old, who was on lifetime parole, had a criminal record spanning decades and had been arrested multiple times this year alone. On August 27, Queens Criminal Court Judge Edward Daniels ordered Worthy’s release during a hearing on assault and burglary charges, despite prosecutors asking for $120,000 bail and Worthy’s parole officer requesting that he be held without bail.

Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday that Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch will be the next Commissioner of the NYPD, effective Monday. Tisch will become the second female to serve in the role in the department’s 179-year history. The first, Keechant Sewell, was also appointed by Adams. Tisch is a 12-year veteran of the NYPD and the current commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation. She was previously the NYPD’s technology czar.

A man has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbings of three people in random attacks across Manhattan, police said Tuesday. Ramon Rivera, 51, was taken into custody after he was found with blood on his clothes and the two kitchen knives, authorities said. He awaited arraignment Tuesday. A message seeking comment was left with an attorney who represented him in a prior case. “Three New Yorkers. Unprovoked attacks that left us searching for answers on how something like this could happen,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference Monday afternoon. Investigators were working to understand what propelled the rampage, which happened within 2 1/2 hours Monday. “No words exchanged. No property taken.

It is with deep pain and regret that YWN informs you of the petirah of Rav Meir Chaim Gutfreund, zt”l, a pioneering mechanech and the visionary founder of The Cheder in Flatbush. He was 72. Rav Meir Chaim’s life was defined by an unwavering dedication to chinuch and a relentless pursuit of excellence in the craft, leaving behind a legacy that will continue to impact generations to come. Rav Meir Chaim zt”l was raised in Monsey, where his early years were imbued with Torah and Yiras Shamayim. At the age of 13, he began learning in Bais Hatalmud, where he remained through his kollel years. These formative experiences, combined with his unique perspective on chinuch, laid the foundation for his future endeavors.

A man carried out a string of stabbings across a swath of Manhattan on Monday morning, killing two people and critically wounding a third without uttering a word to his victims, officials said. The 51-year-old suspect was in police custody after being found with blood on his clothes and the two kitchen knives he was carrying, authorities said. The suspect’s and victims’ names weren’t immediately released. “Three New Yorkers. Unprovoked attacks that left us searching for answers on how something like this could happen,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference. He called the violence “a clear, clear example” of failures in the criminal justice system and elsewhere.

As reported by YWN earlier this week, a disturbing video surfaced showing two individuals on a motorcycle swiping a yarmulke off the head of a Jewish man crossing a Staten Island street. The footage, initially shared by Staten Island Shomrim, captured the brazen act, with the riders speeding away after their offensive behavior. The Shomrim group posted the video on X (formerly Twitter), calling on the public to assist in identifying the suspects. “Help us apprehend these individuals. Wanted for a despicable act of pushing a Kippah off a Jewish man’s head,” their statement read. They urged anyone with information to contact the NYPD’s 121st Precinct Detective Squad or the Shomrim hotline.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Reb Dovid Pitterman Z”L. He was approximately 74. The Niftar was one of the original first 5 members of Flatbush Hatzolah (known by his unit number “F-8”),  when it was founded in the Mirrer Yeshiva. He was an active member for around 50 years, responding to emergency calls until just a few years ago. He saved thousands of lives over the decades. Reb Dovid was the son of Reb Moshe, who was an “Alter Mirrer”, and grew up in Boro Park, where his father was a fixture of the famed “Mirrer Minyan”. He learned in Bais Medrash in the Mirrer Yeshiva, under Hagaon HaRav Shmuel Brudny ZT”L and other Gedolim in the Mir.

On Thursday morning, Boro Park Shomrim responded to a report of a burglary at the Viznitzer Shul on 53rd Street. The call to the Shomrim hotline launched a swift response from volunteers, who immediately began collecting video evidence and tracking the suspects. Footage revealed a surprising scene: three perpetrators, including one in a wheelchair, another pushing the wheelchair, and a third walking nearby. The trio was seen breaking into the Shul and stealing a significant amount of money and checks before fleeing the scene. Their plan included a getaway car stationed approximately a mile away, which they reached on foot. Shomrim volunteers meticulously tracked the vehicle’s movements, leveraging high-tech surveillance cameras installed throughout Boro Park.

On Tuesday afternoon around 12:30 PM, the NYPD 71st Precinct’s Detective Squad reached out to Crown Heights Shomrim, seeking assistance with a suspected mailbox theft case. The precinct flagged multiple vehicles suspected of involvement in recent USPS mailbox thefts in the area. Upon receiving the request, Crown Heights Shomrim’s operations team coordinated with their rapid response units to locate the suspects. Within three hours, they successfully identified the primary vehicle linked to the thefts. Detectives were alerted to the vehicle’s location, swiftly intercepting it and apprehending the driver. During the arrest, authorities recovered multiple packages, stolen mail, a USPS jacket, and a master key used for opening mailboxes.

Former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who resigned from Congress following a tax fraud conviction, is paralyzed from the chest down after being thrown from a horse during a polo tournament, according to friends who are raising funds to pay for the ex-lawmaker’s medical care. Grimm, 54, suffered the devastating injury in September and is now being treated at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey, where the late actor Christopher Reeve was treated after a similar equestrian accident in 1995, according to Vincent Ignizio, a friend of Grimm’s who is a former New York City Council member. Grimm had been an avid polo player for years, Ignizio said.