Hate-crime charges dropped against boys accused of bus fire

Authorities have dropped hate-crime charges against boys who were arrested for allegedly setting fire to a school bus used by a Jewish school in Crown Heights. Officials said there wasn't enough evidence

News 12 Staff

May 14, 2016, 3:20 AM

Updated 3,235 days ago

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Authorities have dropped hate-crime charges against boys who were arrested for allegedly setting fire to a school bus used by a Jewish school in Crown Heights.
Officials said there wasn't enough evidence to pursue the charge. The five accused boys, who are from Brooklyn and are between the ages of 11 and 14, each face a count of arson and criminal mischief. They will be tried as juveniles in family court. 
Surveillance video shows the boys running off the bus as it caught fire on Sunday. Police are looking for one more person who may have been involved. 
The bus belonged to the Bnos Chomesh Academy, a Jewish girls' school. 
The Crown Heights neighborhood has seen tensions between the Jewish and black communities in the past, including riots in 1991.