Authorities in New Jersey are searching for the person who threw a rock at a school bus traveling on the Turnpike, critically injuring an 8-year-old girl.
The incident unfolded Wednesday afternoon in the northbound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike in Teaneck Township, according to New Jersey State Police.
The bus had been traveling back to Yeshivat Noam, a Jewish day school in Paramus, from a field trip to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City when a rock the size of a baseball crashed through a window around 2 p.m., ABC 7 reported. It struck a third-grader in the head, leaving her with a fractured skull.
The girl was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where she underwent surgery, NJ Advance Media reported. She was listed in stable condition as of Friday.
Authorities have said there was nothing on the bus indicating those inside were predominantly Jewish, which means the motive remains under investigation.
“There’s no indication it’s a bias crime. At the same time, it was a slow-moving bus off a ramp with visibly Jewish kids inside,” said Teaneck Mayor Mark J. Schwartz.
“We don’t want to rush to make accusations of antisemitism or racism,” he continued. “But because of the times we’re in and the fact that was a Yeshiva bus with visibly Jewish kids, we’re treading carefully.”
Schwartz added that he and Deputy Mayor Elie Katz are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
