A masked gunman entered the home of a University of Michigan rabbi during a Wednesday night Rosh Hashanah gathering, threatening student attendees and saying, “I’m taking everything, give me everything,” local police said in a statement provided to the Washington Free Beacon.
Approximately 15 to 20 university students were gathered at the rabbi’s home when the suspect entered through a back door. All occupants were able to leave the home safely.
Police in Southfield, a Detroit suburb located roughly 40 minutes northeast of campus, have identified the suspected gunman as a “black male in his late teens/early twenties” who fled the scene before officers arrived. They are “working to bring him into custody,” said Deputy Chief of Police Aaron Huguley.
“No one was injured during this incident,” Huguley said. “The preliminary investigation indicates this was a crime of opportunity. However, the investigation is ongoing.” A second suspect, identified only as “a female,” was also found to be involved in the attempted robbery “and has been taken into custody.”
University of Michigan president Santa Ono sent a private statement addressing the incident to a group of parents. In it, Ono said he “asked for an enhanced security presence” outside of Jewish organizations on campus both this week and next week.
“I have spoken directly with students on the scene and some parents as well,” Ono wrote. “Although we are grateful that the Rabbi, his family and our students are safe, we take the safety of our students very seriously.”
Ono later published a public statement on the “incident in Southfield.”
“As tensions in the Middle East have escalated in recent days, it is more important than ever that we work collectively to offer solace and safety to one another,” he said. “The university is absolute in its pledge to do whatever it can to protect and care for our students, faculty, staff and visitors.”
News of the incident first circulated on social media, where a Zionist advocacy organization shared an apparent text message from a parent of a student who attended the dinner.
“Everyone is safe but some are shaken up,” the parent wrote. “The war in the Middle East isn’t coming to America. It is already here.”
The University of Michigan is expected to see significant protests on Monday, the anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel. Campus groups are planning a demonstration titled “Global Call to Action: One Year of Genocide, One Year of Resistance.”
“JOIN US next Monday, October 7th in protest at the Rackham building to demand justice for Gaza,” Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, the university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, wrote on Instagram. “JOIN US to demand that the UMich board of regents DIVEST the over $6 billion of our endowment that is invested in the genocide of Gaza! JOIN US in a week of action and education!”
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A poster advertising the Oct. 7 “One Year of Resistance” protest at the University of Michigan.
The school’s Jewish community was subject to another attack last month, when a student was kicked and spit on outside the campus Jewish Resource Center after confirming he was Jewish. The incident is still under investigation by the Ann Arbor Police Department.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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