Images on social media showed the size of the brick used in the assault on an elderly Jewish man in Brooklyn. Photo: Screenshot.

A brutal assault on an elderly Jewish man in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Tuesday morning is being investigated by police as a hate crime.

The victim had been walking in Rochester Park in the Crown Heights neighborhood when he was assaulted at by a man wielding an enormous brick.

“This morning, at 7:45am, my father in law went for his morning walk, like he always does,” the victim’s son-in law, Brooklyn resident Benny Friedman, tweeted. “Suddenly a man started yelling at him, and started chasing him, holding a huge brick.”

Friedman said that “there was no question this man had murder on his mind. My father in law tried to defend himself.”

The victim was taken hospital with a broken nose and teeth and received several stitches to his head. “Thank Gd, all things considered, my father in law is doing ok,” Friedman reported later.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Tuesday afternoon announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the assailant.

“We are alarmed and deeply concerned by this violent assault on an elderly Jewish man,” said Evan R. Bernstein, ADL NY/NJ regional director. “The sheer brutally of this attack is beyond shocking and profoundly upsetting. At a time when violent assaults against Jews increased by 55 percent last year, we must not become complacent. All New Yorkers should be outraged by these incidents and come together to end this disturbing trend once and for all. We are grateful for the NYPD Hate Crime Unit for investigating.”

Thank Gd, all things considered, my father in law is doing ok. Thank you Councilman @ChaimDeutsch for your help and concern. We need safer communities. Where I come from in Minnesota, this would be front page headlines. But here in Brooklyn this is just the latest event.

— Benny Friedman (@BennysMusic) August 27, 2019