A man has been arrested after shots were fired with a shotgun outside a synagogue in Albany, New York, on Thursday afternoon, just as the Jewish holiday of Chanukah was to commence.
According to FBI spokesperson Sarah Ruane, Mufid Fawaz Alkhader has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, NBC News reported. Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins said Alkhader fired two shots at Temple Israel; he added, “We were told by responding officers that he made a comment ‘Free Palestine.’”
No one was injured in the incident, in which Al Khader fired two shots from a shotgun outside Temple Israel around 2 p.m., Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins said.
“We were told by responding officers that he made a comment ‘Free Palestine,’” Hawkins said
— Chloe Atkins (@chloe_aatkins) December 8, 2023
“Thanks to the swift coordination between the ATF, FBI, and our partners at Albany Police Department and New York State Police, Mufid Fawaz Alkhader has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person,” FBI Albany wrote on X. “More information will be provided by the United States Attorney’s Office following an initial appearance scheduled for tomorrow at U.S. District Court in Albany.”
Federal update to the Temple Israel shots fired incident:@ATFNewYork @Albanypolice @NYSpolice pic.twitter.com/XUz2CX84Ir
— FBI Albany (@FBIAlbany) December 8, 2023
According to New York Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul, Alkhader is a New York state resident; Newsweek reported he is a resident of Schenectady, New York, and is a U.S. citizen who was born in Iraq. “He allegedly said that ‘events in the Middle East have impacted him,’ according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco & Explosives task force,” Newsweek reported, adding, “New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that Alkhader has a ‘rap sheet.’”
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said that at the time of the incident, children were at a preschool inside the building; Hochul said the temple went into lockdown mode.
“This feels sadly inevitable as we’ve repeatedly seen antisemites target synagogues and Jewish people & businesses as ‘retribution’ for Israel,” Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, stated.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP
Chanukah, which means dedication, celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the second century after Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) were forcing the Jewish people to accept Greek culture and beliefs and Jews led by Judah the Maccabee defeated the powerful Greek army, drove them out of the land, and reclaimed the Temple so it could be used for Jewish observance again. According to Jewish tradition, when the Jews returned to the Temple they found only a single jug of pure olive oil to light the menorah traditionally kept in the Temple; but when they lit the oil it miraculously lasted for eight days until new oil could be prepared.