Man arrested in hate crime attack on Jewish college students in Chicago

An Illinois man has been charged in the violent hate crime attack on two Jewish students at DePaul University last year. 

Adam Erkan, 20, is facing four felony charges, including two counts of hate crime and two counts of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. 

Prosecutors allege that Erkan attacked Max Long and Michael Kaminsky while the pair were peacefully advocating for Israel on DePaul University’s campus in Chicago on Nov. 6. Authorities said at the time that they were also looking for a second suspect.

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Erkan, who was not a student at the university, allegedly approached Long while wearing a face-covering and making antisemitic slurs, according to police. A second suspect then struck Long from behind and eventually turned on Kaminsky when he attempted to step in to help, police said. 

The Cook County Prosecutor’s Office and Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Erkan’s father identified him to police after surveillance footage captured Erkan fleeing the scene in a 2011 Silver Toyota RAV-4, according to prosecutors. 

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Authorities were able to obtain video footage of the incident, and police are still searching for the second suspect. 

Fox News Digital was unable to locate an attorney representing Erkan. 

Long, an Israeli Defense Forces reservist, lost consciousness and suffered a brain injury from the attack, while Kaminsky sustained a fractured wrist and required surgery. 

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“It’s definitely some sense of relief,” Long said, adding, “I’ve said many times, I felt safer having the support of my team in the army around me in Gaza than I do a lot of times on my own college campus in Chicago.”

Erkan was arrested outside his home earlier this week and made his first appearance in court on Thursday. A judge ordered Erkan to be held without bail as he awaits trial. 

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“We are extremely grateful for the work of the police who investigated this case and apprehended the suspect,” DePaul University officials said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The suspect is not a member of the DePaul community. Acts of hate and violence have no place at DePaul. We condemn antisemitism in all its forms and stand in solidarity with those affected by this reprehensible act.” 

Earlier this month, Long and Kaminsky filed a lawsuit alongside The Lawfare Project against DePaul University, alleging that officials allowed antisemitic rhetoric to infiltrate the campus. 

“We appreciate the work the Chicago Police Department did to identify and apprehend this suspect, and expect the State Attorney to vigorously prosecute this as the conspiracy and hate crime attack it was,” Gerard Filitti, The Lawfare Project Senior Counsel, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“We have every confidence that the second attacker will be apprehended shortly. As the judge made clear at yesterday’s hearing, the evidence shows a plan to attack Max and Michael, and its methodical implementation. It is highly significant that the defendant, Adam Erkan, was denied bail, clearly signaling that he remains a danger to the Jewish community, and setting an important precedent in the prosecution of hate crimes.”

Fox News’ Max Bacall and Mike Tobin contributed to this report.