Security increased at sensitive locations for Jewish community in NYC after DC shootings
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Despite no credible threats, security is increased at sensitive locations for the Jewish community in New York City after two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington were shot and killed.
It happened Wednesday evening as the young couple was leaving an event at a Jewish museum. The two victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were apparently set to get engaged soon.
The suspect, Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, yelled, "Free, free Palestine" after he was arrested, police said.
RELATED | What we know about 2 Israeli Embassy staffers killed in DC shooting
The NYPD said there is no known nexus to NYC, but the department will increase "its presence at religious sites and cultural institutions with high visibility patrols, heavy weapons teams and counterterrorism officers."
Out of an abundance of caution, they will bolster security outside Jewish institutions and there will be added protections in place, aiming to protect Jewish New Yorkers.
"We've been in close coordination with federal, state, local and international partners in D.C. and otherwise to make sure that we have the benefit of as much information as we possibly can," said NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counter Terrorism Rebecca Weiner.
On Friday morning, the NYC Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), in partnership with the P.A.T.H. Forward (Partners Against The Hate) initiative, will hold a press conference to strongly condemn hate-driven violence and reinforce the city's commitment to combating antisemitism and all forms of hate.
The event will also emphasize the importance of unity, resilience, and cross-community support.
On Thursday, city officials and religious leaders of all faiths gathered together in Chelsea.
"All of us know there will be people in our communities that will not understand why we are together, that's why we together," said Rev. Al Sharpton with the National Action Network. "Because we need to make people understand that until we all understand why we together we're going to keep having tragedies and we cannot have it wait to come to our doors."
The potential for a similar attack in New York is something the NYPD cannot ignore, but it's the kind of attack that is very difficult to prevent.
"The lone actor threat has been the dominant terrorism threat for several years in the United States," Weiner said. "In New York City, and particularly since October 7th, we've been dealing with an elevated threat environment worldwide across the ideological spectrum from terrorist organizations, but most importantly, from lone actors just like this."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams released a statement saying he's "devastated by the senseless killing outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. 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. This act of hateful violence is exactly what it means to globalize the intifada. Let me be clear - antisemitic violence has no place in our country."
Cardinal Dolan also released a statement, speaking out about the "killing in cold blood of two members of the Jewish community."
"We commend them to the mercy of God, and we join with their families, friends, and the wider Jewish community who mourns their senseless and tragic loss," Cardinal Dolan said. "May their memory be a blessing. As has been so evident in these last months and years, antisemitism is still pervasive in our country and our world, and the Catholic community in New York today renews our resolve to working to eradicate this evil. We stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters in this moment of pain, praying that all may live in the peace and security that God surely intends for us."
Former New York Congressman and current Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin posted on social media that he just met Milgrim two weeks ago:
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's office says he is "shocked" by the "horrific, antisemitic" shooting.
On Thursday night, the mayor and other public safety officials answered questions from a predominantly Jewish community in Williamsburg, calling for respect, and echoing a message from faith leaders gathered earlier in Chelsea.
"Not one person in this room believes that that couple in Washington, D.C., that was assassinated, should have been treated that way," Mayor Eric Adams said.
"We're remembering two people whose lives were consumed by love and their lives were taken by hate," said Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, Vice President of the New York Board of Rabbis.
That's exactly what many Jewish New Yorkers are worried about.
"That it could be me, and that's part of terrorism too," said Queens resident Miriam Peskowitz. "That everybody lives in fear that it could be them next."
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