Muslim helps Jew after attack
A BRAVE MUSLIM high school student helped cops bust a homeless sicko who randomly slammed his open hand into an Orthodox Jewish woman’s face on a Brooklyn subway train Tuesday night, officials said.
Ahmed Khalifa, 17, of Midwood, chased down Rayvon Jones, 31, after he decked the woman, who was simply reading a book on a Coney Island-bound Q train near the Newkirk Plaza station about 7:50 p.m.
“It was a very hard slap. I almost could feel the slap,” Khalifa told the Daily News. “He was 6-foot-6, and a very big, big guy.”
The woman suffered a gash on her lip, swelling and bruising. She was taken to New York Methodist Hospital in stable condition.
Khalifa (pictured right) said he was riding the Q home after working a shift at the public library near Grand Army Plaza. He had his headphones on when he heard a commotion.
He looked up and saw Jones hit the woman, who was seated.
The impact smashed her glasses, and she dropped to the floor and was unconscious for a few seconds, he said. Another woman rushed to her side to help her.
The victim came to and sobbed, “Why would he do this to me?” as she desperately reached around to find her glasses. Jones took off. Khalifa yelled at the conductor to call for help, then ran after Jones. Khalifa lost Jones, but an Orthodox man in a car stopped and offered to help track him down. “We found (Jones) at the bus stop and called the Shomrim,” Khalifa said. Numerous members of the Shomrim, the Jewish safety patrol, arrived as Jones got on the bus and tried to lay low. “I looked at the window and yelled, ‘Get out, you coward! Why are you trying to hide?!’ ” Khalifa said. “He pulled on his hoodie like he was trying not to be recognized.” Police finally arrived and struggled to pull a screaming Jones off the bus and into a squad car. He was charged with assault and was awaiting arraignment Wednesday in Brooklyn Criminal Court. Khalifa said he doesn’t want to be called a hero. “Some people are like, ‘She’s Jewish, why did you help her?’ ” Khalifa said. “Everyone is equal. I treat everyone the same way.”