A routine third-grade field trip ended in terror on the New Jersey Turnpike when a rock smashed through a school bus window and struck an eight-year-old Jewish girl in the head, leaving her with a skull fracture and internal brain bleeding. What initially appeared to be a minor injury was revealed, a day later, to be life-threatening. The child, a student at Yeshivat Noam in Paramus, was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center, where doctors determined she requires surgery. The incident has shaken parents, educators, and the broader Jewish community, not only because of the brutality of the act, but because it targeted children enclosed in what should have been the safest of spaces.
The attack took place on Wednesday afternoon as buses were returning from a third-grade trip to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. As the bus traveled northbound on the New Jersey Turnpike near Exit 70A/B for Leonia and Teaneck, a large rock was hurled at the vehicle, shattering a side window and striking the girl in the head. New Jersey State Police reported that the incident occurred at approximately 2:09 p.m. while the bus was in the right lane. The injured student was transported immediately to Hackensack University Medical Center. On Thursday, a CAT scan revealed active brain bleeding, significantly escalating the seriousness of the case.
Yeshivat Noam later confirmed that the child suffered a skull fracture and remains under medical care. No arrests have been announced as of Thursday afternoon, and authorities are investigating the incident as an aggravated assault. The Teaneck Police Department and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office have launched a joint investigation and are urging anyone with information to come forward.
In a letter sent to parents shortly after the incident, Yeshivat Noam Head of School Rabbi Chaim Hagler described the sequence of events and the school’s immediate response. “I am writing regarding an incident that occurred this afternoon involving our 3rd-grade trip bus,” he wrote. “While returning from the Liberty Science Center, as the bus was exiting the Turnpike at Teaneck Road, an object was thrown at the vehicle, causing a window to break.” He emphasized that school administration and staff were on site immediately. “Our teachers took immediate control of the situation, and I joined them on-site to accompany the children back to school,” Hagler wrote. “Upon arrival, our mental health team met with the students to provide a safe space for them to process the event and share their feelings.”
Sol Itzkowitz, head of Bergen County Chaverim, expressed shock at the attack. He said he was “shocked by this horrendous incident,” and praised the “swift response of local and state law enforcement.” Itzkowitz noted that emergency meetings were convened involving elected officials, the Sheriff’s Office, Teaneck and Paramus police departments, school staff, parents, and Jewish community chaplains in the immediate aftermath.
Authorities have stated that the motive behind the rock throwing has not yet been determined. School officials and advocacy groups, including Teach NJ, stressed that the bus had no visible markings identifying it as a Jewish school bus. “We do not know the motive behind the incident, and it would be premature to draw conclusions,” school leaders said in a statement. At the same time, police acknowledged the severity of the act itself, which endangered multiple children and resulted in grave injury to one.
As the investigation continues, the Jewish community and people of conscience are left confronting the stark reality of how fragile safety can be, even far from Israel, even on an ordinary school day. The public is asked to pray for the complete recovery of Gila Bracha bat Michal Ilana, that the surgery be successful, that her healing be swift and whole, and that those responsible for this act be brought to justice without delay.