A former Ner Israel Rabbinical College student was arrested on Tuesday, May 26, by Baltimore County Police Department officers for trying to run over pedestrians around the Pikesville yeshiva’s campus in the 400 block of Mount Wilson Lane.
The suspect, Manooel Yerooshalmy, 33, was charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder and various other charges.
Yerooshalmy, who also goes by the name of Emanuel Yerushalmy and lives in the 3600 block of Clarks Lane in Upper Park Heights, is currently being held by police without bail.
Police received a call from a motorist around 7 a.m. about an individual driving erratically near Ner Israel in a black Nissan. When officers tried to stop the car, the driver sped southbound on Reisterstown Road.
The car was stopped by officers after a short pursuit of about two miles at the intersection of Reisterstown and Fallstaff roads. Because the suspect would not comply with orders to exit the vehicle, officers broke the driver’s side window and arrested the individual.
One officer was injured in the altercation and taken to R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center as a precautionary measure. The injury was characterized as non-life threatening by police.
Police said the suspect targeted at least one member of the yeshiva’s senior staff member.
“This was a former student they were familiar with,” said Baltimore County Police spokesperson Vickie Warehime. “The college is actually reporting that he did target a staff member, and we know he drove his vehicle up onto the actual physical grounds towards a playground [and] there was another person in that area that he may have also targeted or gone towards. …
“Right now, we know we have numerous traffic charges and we have first-degree assault charges,” she said.
(The Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Yeshiva World website reported that the individual targeted by the suspect was Rabbi Simcha Mordechai Cook, menahel, or principal, of Ner Israel’s mechina, or high school division. Rabbi Cook had reportedly just gotten into his car when the suspect rammed into the vehicle. The suspect then ran inside a campus building and drove off at a high speed, apparently to chase another senior staff member of the high school.)
Founded in 1933 by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman with only six students, Ner Israel is considered to be one of the leading and most influential yeshivot in the world, drawing students from all over. It has an enrollment of 249 undergraduate students, according to the college website niche.com. Ner Israel also has a kollel, an intensive graduate study program for married students.
“This morning, there was an incident on our campus with a former student,” Ner Israel said in a statement. “We are working closely with [Precinct 4 Commander] Captain Brandon Rogers and his wonderful team from the Baltimore County Police Department, Pikesville Precinct, to resolve this matter. Thank G-d, no one was injured during this incident.”
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