Levi Rosenblatt's condition is said to have deteriorated. Photo: Chabad.org.

The condition of Levi Rosenblatt, the 22 year-old yeshiva student who was stabbed in an early morning attack today at the world headquarters of the Chabad movement, has now improved, but is still serious, after a deterioration earlier in the day, local news site CrownHeights.info reported.

Rosenblatt was stabbed in the left side of his head after the knife-wielding assailant, Calvin Peters, a 50 year-old African-American man, went on a rampage at the building on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York. Peters was shot dead by a police officer after refusing to surrender his knife.

Initial reports stated that Rosenblatt, who hails from the town of Betar Illit in Israel, was not seriously wounded and would recover. However, Rosenblatt is still in an induced coma, after doctors at Kings County Hospital discovered a vascular laceration that was causing internal bleeding and placing increased pressure on his brain.

He was then rushed to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for a non-invasive surgery, and doctors voiced optimism about the success of the procedure. His vitals are strong, they reported.

It is not yet clear whether today’s attack will be classified as a hate crime, although several witnesses reported hearing Peters shouting “Kill the Jews!”

New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind compared today’s attack to last month’s atrocity at a synagogue in the Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem, which claimed the lives of four Jewish worshippers and an Israeli Druze policeman.

“This incident is reminiscent of Har Nof,” Hikind said, adding that “Jewish communities around the world know what 770 (a popular abbreviation of Chabad’s address at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn) represents.”

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the latest medical reports on the victim’s condition.