SoCal Synagogue Shooting Prompts Bay Area Police To Increase Patrols
BERKELEY (KPIX 5) -- Police are increasing patrols at many places of worship across the Bay Area this weekend as California saw its second religiously motivated hate crime in a week.
On Sunday, the city of Berkeley sponsored a Holocaust remembrance ceremony at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. It's something the city has held every year for the past 17 years, but this year, the tone was different.
"We as people of good will must speak out against antisemitism no matter who is saying or doing it," said Kris Worthington, a speaker at the event and one of the event's founders.
Yesterday's deadly synagogue shooting near San Diego wasimpossible for people in attendance to ignore, especially with the increased police presence at an event that shouldn't need protection.
"Seeing a police officer and having my baby, in my arms really made me think twice before I stepped in. I was just thinking for sure it's a safe place," said Agnieszka Ilwizka-Karuna, who attended today's remembrance with her one year old son strapped to her chest.
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According to the most recent statistics from the California Department of Justice, the state saw a 44-percent increase in the number of hate crimes reported from 2014 to 2017.
"There may be a trend or increase in these crimes, but there's also a trend in people using more social media, people having more exposure to this sort of thing," said Jeff Harp, KPIX 5's security analyst and a retired FBI agent.
Harp says while it's important people not live in fear when going to a place of worship, these attacks are now our reality and people need to be more vigilant about safety.
"These institutions that we all hold very near and dear and sacred are also places and opportunity for people to commit horrendous crimes," said Harp.
The prevalence of such crimes presents an unsettling reality for many people in the Jewish community who had hoped the repeated violence was coming to an end.
"It's just heartbreaking. We've been fighting for tolerance, and we've made progress, and now we're losing our ground with some of this increase in attacks on religious institutions," said Worthington.
Many synagogues increased security after the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania synagogue six months ago that killed 11 people. In light of the recent events, it will also be a topic of conversation at places of worship in the days and weeks to come.
