Suspect accused in DePaul hate crime attack will remain in custody

The suspect in an attack on two DePaul students last November will remain in custody after a pretrial detention hearing Thursday Adam Erkan will remain in custody as he awaits trial for two felony counts of a hate crime and aggravated battery for the Nov attack in Lincoln Park Prosecutors allege Erkan was one of two people who attacked Max Long and Michael Kaminsky outside of the university s attendee center Long and Kaminsky were holding signs visibly supporting Israel when they say two men in black ski masks approached them What began as a conversation ultimately turned violent according to Kaminsky We were thoroughly blindsided he revealed In court Thursday prosecutors claim an uncharged co-offender started hitting Long first They say Erkan who is not a DePaul novice and not from Lincoln Park began sharing his views that Israel is wrongly occupying Palestine They claim he then attacked Kaminsky who has since needed surgery on his wrist Long suffered a concussion If you re proud of what you have to say there s no reason to put a mask on Long explained NBC Chicago Thursday This court appearance is a step in the right direction But there are a lot of procedures that still need to be taken Those approaches include the arrest of an uncharged co-offender which Long and Kaminsky s attorneys are hopeful will happen soon Prosecutors say surveillance cell phone input and the car Erkan was driving which was registered to his father linked him to the crime Erkan is a participant at Triton College His family is in New Jersey however his father was in court Thursday and stood up in help of his son The judge ruled in favor of the state on the issue of detention noting that this attack was in the middle of the day and that Erkan and his co-defendant planned to journey to DePaul for this purpose and that he poses a safety threat to the citizens Erkan is due back in court April During the court hearing co-founders of the Chicago Jewish Alliance met with DePaul s President Robert Manual Thursday We feel that the University does understand that there s a real dilemma with antisemitism stated co-founder Josh Weiner The attack took place several months after pro-Palestinian students erected an encampment on DePaul s campus following a national trend that saw students call for an end to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in the wake of the Oct Hamas attacks in Israel With respect to this attack against Long and Kaminsky in November the university has condemned it saying in a announcement such an act clearly defies DePaul s values to uphold and care for the dignity of every individual In a lawsuit Long and Kaminsky assessment a citizens safety officer was present but didn t intervene They re pushing for DePaul to do more to ensure people from outside the campus population can t intimidate or harm students If we can t have these conversation here thousands of miles away from where this conflict is taking place then how are we ever supposed to hope for peace there Long mentioned