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$2K Jewish Prayer Item Stolen in Subway as Man Observes Sabbath, Police Say

 A man’s $2,000 tefillin was stolen after he put his bag down at the DeKalb Avenue subway station in observation of the Sabbath, police said.
A man’s $2,000 tefillin was stolen after he put his bag down at the DeKalb Avenue subway station in observation of the Sabbath, police said.
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Thinkstock/Rafi Greenstein

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A man’s bag that included a valuable Jewish prayer item was stolen after he set his bag down inside a subway station while observing the Sabbath, police said.

The 25-year-old victim left his bag — which contained a $2,000 tefillin, or a set of small leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah — on a bench in the mezzanine of the DeKalb Avenue subway station at 7:36 p.m. on Sept. 30, according to a police report.

Police say the man exited the turnstile to find someone who could secure his bag while he observed the Sabbath, when it is forbidden under Jewish law to carry items. 

When he got back to the station’s mezzanine, the bag was gone, police said. 

The victim ran to the southbound platform and saw two unknown men in their 20s emptying the contents of the bag into their own aboard a Q train, police said.

The victim tried to hold the train’s door, but the suspects got off the train and fled, police said. 

Other items in his bag included a $300 phone and $5 cash, police said.

No arrests had been made as of Tuesday. 

Other notable crimes from Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill include:

► A 16-year-old boy was playing basketball with his friends at Washington Hall Park on Park and Washington avenues at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 when he heard multiple gunshots, felt pain on the back of his leg and realized he had been shot, police said. He was taken to Kings County Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

► Someone tried to break into a side door at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon St., between 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 and 5:20 a.m. on Sept. 27, the NYPD said. Police said the door was damaged and the key cylinder was found on the ground.

► Two men walked into the Macy’s at 422 Fulton St. in Downtown Brooklyn at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 and stole $2,610 worth of Sean John jeans and Nike hoodies, the NYPD said. Police arrested a 37-year-old man for the theft. A representative for Macy's was not immediately available for comment.  

► A man received a phone call from an unknown man at the corner of Jay and Willoughby streets who told him he owed money to the IRS around 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 30, police said. The victim paid the suspect by sending him $1,400 in Apple iTunes gift cards by reading the number off of the cards.