8-year-old girl sustains fractured skull after rock thrown at school bus
New Jersey authorities are on the lookout for an individual who threw a rock at a school bus on the Turnpike, gravely injuring an 8-year-old girl. The distressing incident occurred on a Wednesday afternoon in the northbound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike in Teaneck Township, as reported by the New Jersey State Police.
The school bus, transporting students from Yeshivat Noam, a Jewish day school in Paramus, back from a field trip to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, was targeted when a large rock, similar in size to a baseball, shattered a window around 2 p.m., impacting a third-grade student’s head and resulting in a fractured skull. Following the incident, the injured girl was immediately taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where she underwent surgery. Thankfully, her condition is currently stable.
One crucial detail that authorities have highlighted is that there were no explicit signs on the bus indicating that the occupants were predominantly Jewish, leaving the motive for the attack under investigation. Teaneck Mayor Mark J. Schwartz emphasized that while indications of bias crimes were absent, it is essential to examine the circumstances cautiously. Despite refraining from jumping to conclusions of antisemitism or racism, the presence of visibly Jewish children on the Yeshiva bus warrants a careful examination due to the current climate.
Adding to the urgency of the situation, Mayor Schwartz, alongside Deputy Mayor Elie Katz, has extended a $5,000 reward to incentivize individuals to come forward with any information that could lead to an arrest. This reward underscores the severity of the incident and the authorities’ commitment to apprehending the perpetrator responsible for the traumatic incident. The safety and security of students traveling on school buses must remain a top priority, and swift action is imperative to ensure justice is served in this case.