NY Man Arrested Allegedly Threatening To Shoot Kids At Jewish Children’s Camp

On Monday, a 58-year-old New York man allegedly threatened to shoot the children at a Jewish children’s camp on Long Island because they were not wearing masks or social distancing.

NBC News reported that the suspect “faces charges of making a terroristic threat and on alleged weapons violations.”

According to Nassau County police, the suspect called them saying there were 500 children attending Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island who were playing in a yard without wearing masks or social distancing. The police report stated, “While police were en route the defendant, (the suspect) called again and threatened to get a gun and shoot the individuals at the location if the police didn’t get there.”

Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said the suspect stated, “If I gotta go out there with a freaking machine gun and shoot all these people, I will.”

Police who arrived at the scene were informed by the suspect that he had made the phone call; he was arrested. On Tuesday, he was charged with making a terroristic threat, four counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and two counts of criminal possession of a firearm, and later released on bond.

“Investigators found (the suspect) was in possession of a valid county pistol permit, and had five handguns, along with rifles and shotguns, which included two assault weapons. NBC New York reported that 14 weapons in all were seized from (the suspect), including a Bushmaster rifle,” NBC News reported.

In April, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio targeted the Jewish community of New York, singling them out for not obeying social distancing requirements. He tweeted, “My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.”

The New York Times reported:

Anti-Semitic violence in the New York area has been more frequent lately than at any time in recent memory, with three people killed in a shooting at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, N.J., and five injured in a knife attack at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, N.Y. …

Jewish people were the victims in more than half of the 428 hate crimes in New York City last year, with many of the crimes committed in heavily Orthodox neighborhoods, according to the Police Department. Community leaders said most of the victims in the Monsey and Jersey City attacks were Orthodox.

The tempo of such incidents increased as 2019 ended and the new year began, with 43 across New York State from Dec. 1 to : Jan. 6, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

At the same time in April, de Blasio issued tweets hammering the Jewish community for gathering for a funeral, writing:

Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite (sic): a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic. When I heard, I went there myself to ensure the crowd was dispersed. And what I saw WILL NOT be tolerated so long as we are fighting the Coronavirus.

But in early June, de Blasio sang a different tune about social distancing when it came to protests over George Floyd, saying, “Today in New York City was actually — the peaceful protesters really took to the fore and the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful.”