A New York man shouting “Free Palestine” was arrested for firing a gun outside a synagogue in the state capital Albany, according to police.
No one was injured in the incident, which took place, before the first night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, and there is no further danger to the public, said officials.
“We were told by responding officers that he made a comment, ‘Free Palestine,’” Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins told reporters.
The 28-year-old man, who police have not yet named publicly, is an Albany resident, according to New York governor Kathy Hochul.
"I am immediately directing the New York State Police and New York National Guard to be on high alert and increase the existing patrols of at-risk sites we had planned for the Hanukkah holiday, including at synagogues, yeshivas and community centers, and working closely with local law enforcement," Governor Hochul told reporters after the shooting.
The man was allegedly armed with a shotgun— (AP)
"This builds on the significant efforts we have taken to protect religious communities in the wake of the October 7 attacks. Make no mistake: the safety of Jewish New Yorkers is non-negotiable."
The shooting at Temple Israel in Albany is being investigated as a hate crime by local police, the New York state police, the FBI, and the ATF.
The individual had been “acting very suspiciously” in the run-up to the shooting around 2pm, according to police.
The man dropped a shotgun before officers arrived, according to Chief Hawkins.
Children were inside a preschool on-site at the time of the shooting. The facility went into lockdown after shots were fired. Parents have since been reunited with their children.
The shooting took place just before the first night of the Jewish holiday.
“After this press conference, we’re going to be lighting Hanukkah candles,” Temple Israel Rabbi Wendy Love Anderson told reporters on Thursday, “because we need light in darkness.”
After the incident, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said she stood in solidarity with the Jewish community.
“No community is immune, and we take this very seriously,” Mayor Sheehan said, per Spectrum Local News.
Federal officials have warned of a rise in antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes amid continued tensions during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“This is a threat that is reaching, in some way, sort of historic levels,” FBI director Christopher Wray testified before Congress in October regarding antisemitism. “In fact, our statistics would indicate that for a group that represents only about 2.4 per cent of the American public, they account for something like 60 per cent of all religious-based hate crimes.”
The FBI official also described a hate-crime investigation into the death of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy who was stabbed by his family’s landlord in Illinois. Federal officials and community groups have warned of a rise in anti-Muslim attacks amid the ongoing war.
