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Monday, December 9, 2013

Shomrim: NY Post Account of 2010 Members Shooting Riddled with Lies


Brooklyn, NY - The head of Borough Park’s Shomrim is disputing an account that ran in today’s New YorkPost, which accused Shomrim members of provoking an attack on a Brooklyn man which led to the shooting of four members of the citizens patrol group in 2010.

As previously reported on VIN News, 37 year old David Flores was acquitted last month of attempted murder and 14 other charges after the 2010 incident which sent four members of Shomrim to the hospital, convicted only on a single charge of illegal possession of a gun.

According to the New York Post story,  the first interview given by the defendant since the verdict was handed down on November 27th, Flores was driving to a Brooklyn bakery when his car was surrounded by an angry mob of approximately 20 Chasidic men, after a van stopped short in front of his vehicle in Borough Park.

The group allegedly banged on his windows, kicked his doors and shouted racial slurs, with one Shomrim member waving a gun at Flores.  As Flores, who claims he feared for his life, attempted to escape his car, he was grabbed and beaten and only then, according to Flores, did he began firing.

Nothing could be farther from the truth, according to Shomrim coordinator Yanky Daskal, who said that Flores, who has been arrested numerous times, had a history of exposing himself to children in the area.

“911 had already been called on him a week before,” Daskal told VIN News. “By the time police came he was long gone, but we had his description and a plate number.  When we got a call a week later that he was exposing himself to kids again, we called 911 and we followed his car.”

As Flores, who according to Daskal knew he was being followed, turned into 46th Street on September 2nd 2010, he was blocked by a vehicle that was trying to park.

“There was a hachnasas Sefer Torah and the Satmar Rebbe was there, it was a huge crowd,” recalled Daskal.  “We were on the street and we made sure not to approach him, touch him or say anything to him.”
After getting out of his car and seeing Shomrim members approaching on foot, Flores took a .22 caliber handgun out of his pocket.

“He shot one of our members in the stomach from quite a few feet away,” said Daskal.  “After that we jumped him.  He shot again and again, even shooting himself. We were just trying to get the gun away.  
It was chaos.”

While the Post article quotes Flores as saying that Shomrim members mistook him for a Muslim because of his small woven cap and hurled racial epithets during the incident, Daskal categorized that statement as an outright lie.

“No one shouted any slurs,” said Daskal.

Flores did not testify in his trial but faces five to 15 years in prison on the illegal weapons charge.

By: Sandy Eller - Vosizneias

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