A man has been arrested and charged with allegedly firing blanks inside a San Francisco synagogue.
The suspect, identified as 51-year-old Dmitri Valerie Mishin, allegedly fired the blanks several times at the Schneerson Center on February 1 and ranted about the Mossad before fleeing. Mishin is also alleged to have been behind a similar incident at a theater the night before. No one was hurt and no property was damaged in either case. He was arrested on February 3.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office announced in a February 8 statement that they will be charging Mishin with “two felony counts of making threats obstructing exercise of religion, one count of misdemeanor disturbing of a religious meeting, and five counts of misdemeanor brandishing a replica firearm.” The office will also be filing hate crimes charges against Mishin. “This is another deplorable example where our Jewish community has been targeted for who they are and what they believe,” Jenkins said. “There is no doubt that antisemitism is real and we must stand with the Jewish community against it. My office will make clear that there is zero tolerance for hate in San Francisco and there will be no safe haven for those who perpetrate these crimes.”
If convicted, Mishin could serve up to 10 years in prison.
Today, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced hate crime charges against the alleged suspect in connection to the Richmond District synagogue shooting.
Press Release: pic.twitter.com/SaUK8aTHIT
— SF DISTRICT ATTORNEY (@SFDAOffice) February 8, 2023
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) San Francisco tweeted that they were “grateful” at how quickly the suspect was arrested and charged. “Everyone in America-including Jews-has the right to practice religion free from threat,” they wrote. “ADL will closely follow the criminal prosecution & trusts the defendant will be held to account.”
.@ADL is grateful @SFPD quickly apprehended the suspect & @SFDAOffice filed #HateCrime charges. Everyone in America-including Jews-has the right to practice religion free from threat. ADL will closely follow the criminal prosecution & trusts the defendant will be held to account. https://t.co/QIcW1n2cus
— ADL San Francisco (@ADL_SF) February 8, 2023
The American Jewish Committee similarly tweeted, “We are thankful that no one was hurt and commend @SFPD for quickly apprehending this dangerous individual.”
A man entered a San Francisco Jewish community center and began talking about the Mossad before firing a number of blanks around the room.
We are thankful that no one was hurt and commend @SFPD for quickly apprehending this dangerous individual.https://t.co/xdP6hi4jYA
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) February 7, 2023
