Boy, 13, charged after allegedly planning mass shooting in a synagogue
CTV
A 13-year old boy from Canton, Ohio, has been charged with allegedly planning a mass shooting of a local Jewish synagogue.
A 13-year old boy from Canton, Ohio, has been charged with allegedly planning a mass shooting of a local Jewish synagogue.
The teenager, who is unnamed in court documents because he is a minor, is charged with inducing panic and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. He's accused of posting a "detailed plan to complete a mass shooting" at Temple Israel in Canton, a city south of Akron, on the live streaming platform Discord.
The charges come amid a rise of antisemitism in the United States and worldwide. In the U.S. alone, antisemitic incidents rose 35% from 2021 to 2022.
According to documents released by the Stark County Sherriff's Office Thursday, an FBI agent alerted the department to the Discord posts on Sept. 7. The plans were initially posted on Sept. 1, and contained maps of the synagogue allegedly drawn by the boy and another individual in Washington state. They also included plans to burn down and "shoot up" the building.
When confronted by law enforcement, the boy admitted to being a part of multiple antisemitic and political groups on the platform, according to the documents. He was then arrested, and a trial hearing is set for Dec. 20.
"We stand by a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to threats made against our community," Stark County Sheriff George Maier said in a statement. "Every threat is investigated thoroughly with the seriousness it deserves."
An attorney for the boy did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.
A federal gun case against U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter opened Monday with jury selection, following the collapse of a plea deal that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close the 2024 election. First lady Jill Biden was seated in the front row of the courtroom, in a show of support for her son.
United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told a gathering of top security officials Saturday that war with China was neither imminent nor unavoidable, despite rapidly escalating tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, stressing the importance of renewed dialogue between him and his Chinese counterpart in avoiding "miscalculations and misunderstandings."