The NYPD will be bulking up patrols in Jewish neighborhoods and at synagogues and yeshivas in the wake of the anti-Semitic in Washington D.C. that left two staff members of the Israeli Embassy dead, officials said Thursday.
“While there is no known nexus to NYC, in response to last night’s horrific attack in D.C. targeting Jews and Israelis, the NYPD is increasing its presence at religious sites and cultural institutions with high visibility patrols, heavy weapons teams and counterterrorism officers,” the NYPD said in a statement on X.
Two embassy staffers were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. Wednesday evening when they were shot to death by a gunman who yelled, “Free, free Palestine” after he was arrested, police said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Lischinsky was a research assistant and Milgrim organized visits and missions to Israel.
The gunman approached a group of four people and opened fire, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference.
The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, was observed pacing outside the museum before the shooting, walked into the museum after the shooting and was detained by event security, Smith said.
Mayor Adams said he was “devastated by the senseless killing.”
“We’re keeping the victims in our prayers and have directed the NYPD to increase security at sensitive locations for the Jewish community here in NYC,” he wrote on X. “This act of hateful violence is exactly what it means to globalize the intifada. Let me be clear — anti-Semitic violence has no place in our country.”
The stunning attack prompted Israeli missions across the globe to beef up their security. The shooting comes as Israel has launched another major offensive in the Gaza Strip in a war with Hamas that has heightened tensions across the Middle East and internationally.
With News Wire Services
