The woman hit the teenager on the head with a cellphone while yelling “I hate them.”
By Shula Rosen
Newly released surveillance video shows a 43-year-old woman attacking a Jewish teenager wearing a yarmulke inside a North Miami Beach Target in an August 2 incident that authorities are prosecuting as a hate crime.
The attack occurred in the Starbucks seating area of the Target at 14075 Biscayne Blvd.
Video released following an investigation shows Chyvonne Juanita Palmer, 43, of North Miami, approaching the teenager before striking him twice in the head and shoulder with a cellphone.
According to the arrest report, Palmer then grabbed a metal chair and raised it while moving toward the teenager again. A witness told police Palmer repeatedly yelled, “I hate them.”
Bystanders intervened, allowing the teenager to leave the area.
WSVN published surveillance footage of the confrontation Monday, nearly a month after the attack. Local10 also reported on the case.
Palmer was arrested on charges of aggravated battery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with prejudice and disorderly conduct. The aggravated assault charge was classified as a hate crime.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Hate Crimes Unit has taken over the case.
A judge ordered Palmer held on bond and imposed a strict stay-away order barring her from contact with the teenager and from the Target where the attack occurred.
The Miami-Dade Police Department investigated the incident.
The video was released as another attack that raised concerns about antisemitic violence was reported in South Florida. Days after the North Miami Beach incident, a Jewish man was attacked in Surfside in a separate case.
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