Search continues for man who fired blanks inside S.F. synagogue
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Schneerson Center, a synagogue in San Francisco predominantly attended by Russian-speaking Jews, was shaken Wednesday night when a man entered the building and fired several rounds, believed to be blanks, into the air. No one was injured but the incident has left the congregation disturbed.
Junior rabbi Alon Chanukov, who is also the vice president of the center, says he believes the attack was targeted. He explained that the man spoke Russian and was seen as a friendly visitor, which is why the congregants did not initially react to the gunfire.
"This person was seen as a friendly person, as a person who is probably just a Russian Jew who walked in off the street," Chanukov said.
No one was hurt during the attack.
Chanukov shared surveillance footage which showed a man entering the synagogue, speaking briefly to the people inside then brandishing a pistol. Chanukov said the suspect was talking about the Mossad and firing into the air before leaving the room.
"You don't take a gun, make sure to have bullets that are blanks, go to a Russian-speaking synagogue during a celebration weekly class, on a Wednesday and shoot it up and say something about Mossad just by coincidence," Chanukov said. The Mossad is Israel's national intelligence agency.
"Maybe he thought that it's not a crime if no one gets physically hurt and it's OK to just scare people and he would just get away with it and, even if he gets caught, like, nothing happens because he didn't actually kill anyone. I'm not sure," Chanukov added.
Police have not yet made an arrest in the case but they think the suspect may be the same man who pulled out a gun at the nearby Balboa theater Tuesday night, the day before the incident at the synagogue. Police are actively searching for the suspect and are asking anyone with information to contact them.
Many who frequent the synagogue told KPIX they contemplated whether to come back.
"I struggled at home for about 15 minutes wondering if I was going to come or not which kills me because, you know, I really do my best to stay on my community but I'm sitting there and thinking about whether or not I want to put myself in the line of fire to worship for my congregation. Yeah I get a stone in my throat," a congregant named Matthew Finkelstein said.
Chanukov said the synagogue will have police stationed outside the building through the weekend and will upgrade its security measures moving forward to help make the congregation feel safe again.
"We're taking precautions but we're not going to stop. We're not going to be intimidated by this person who tried to cause terror," Chanukov said.