LAKEWOOD — A man with a machete yelled profanities at a group of students at a Jewish school on Thursday evening.

Police were called to the Bais Medrash Torat Chesed Yeshiva on Monmouth Avenue around 8:30 p.m. about a man with a machete standing across 9th Street, according to police Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith.

The caller told police the man was wearing a ski mask and playing loud music from a portable speaker.

The man also chased someone down the street toward a construction site. Officers checked the site and could not locate the man.

Staffordsmith said the man did not make any specific threat toward the students.

Outside the Bais Medrash Torat Chesed after a search and evacuation 1/6/23
Outside the Bais Medrash Torat Chesed after a search and evacuation 1/6/23 (The Lakewood Scoop)
loading...

Search of the Yeshiva

The man was last seen walking east on 9th Street and was gone from the area before officers arrived. Officers conducted an extensive search of the area including a "systematic" evacuation of the building and search.

Staffordsmith said the man is described as approximately 5 feet 10 inches with a heavy set build and wearing a white and purple jacket. Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call Lakewood police at 732-363-0200.

Bais Medrash Torat Chesed is a licensed, accredited Talmudic school where students study the Talmud, the religious writings that are the center of the Jewish religion.

The Aniti-Defamation League of New York./New Jersey in a tweet said they are aware of the incident and have reached out to community partners and law enforcement to learn more.

The incident comes less than a week after a 19-year-old Maine man stabbed three NYPD officers near Times Square on New Year's Eve with a machete. He is considered to have acted on his own after being radicalized against the United States government over its support for Israel.

The Lakewood Scoop was first to report on the incident.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

NJ mayors who make 6-figure salaries

As of 2023, there are at least a dozen full-time mayors around New Jersey making six-figure salaries for their positions.

Newark, Woodbridge and Elizabeth have helped lead the pack. Jersey City, Paterson, Edison and Wayne more recently adjusted their pay for the elected post.

New Jersey's Top 8 Weather Stories of 2022

More From Lite 96.9 WFPG