A motorist jumped a curb and tried to mow down people outside an Orthodox Jewish school in New York City on Wednesday, authorities said.

The driver of a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria yelled antisemitic words as his car left the road went toward people on the sidewalk near East 56th Street and Glenwood Road a little before 11:25 a.m. in Brooklyn, according to an New York City Police Department statement.

Surveillance video showed at least two people, wearing yarmulkes and long black garments, running for cover and away from the oncoming car.

Ali Asghar, 58, was arrested and charged with a slew of offenses including attempted murder in the second degree as a hate crime, officials said.

It wasn’t immediately clear on Thursday morning if the suspect had hired or been assigned a criminal defense lawyer to speak on his behalf.

New York City Council Member Farah Louis called the incident in her district, at Mesivta Nachlas Yakov School a “senseless act of bigotry and violence.”

“No group or community should live in fear of violence, discrimination, or intimidation, and we must address the rising trend of antisemitism to prevent such hateful acts in the future,” she said in statement.

A representative for the school could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday.

Wednesday’s incident unfolded about two weeks after a 12-year-old allegedly kicked and punched two Hasidic Jewish boys who were playing on Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn, about 5 1/2 miles north of the scene of the car attack, police said.

The young attacker has been arrested and charged with third-degree assault and second-degree harassment as hate crimes.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com