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Cops seek suspect who hurled Molotov cocktail at NJ synagogue

Law enforcement authorities are on the hunt for a hateful creep who threw a Molotov cocktail at the front door of a synagogue in New Jersey early Sunday.

Video surveillance showed a man in a ski mask approach the front of Temple Ner Tamid around 3:20 a.m. with the Molotov cocktail before he lit it and tossed it at the door, the Bloomfield Division of Public Safety said. The suspect then fled down the driveway.

The device’s glass broke but it didn’t cause any damage to the temple, police said. No one was inside at the time.

Authorities have labeled the attempted arson a “bias incident.” A joint probe was underway involving local detectives, the FBI, ATF and Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Bloomfield officials said.

Police released two images of the suspect in its Sunday press release.

An official with the temple found the broken bottle and gasoline around 9: 30 a.m., Rabbi Marc Katz told the Bergen Record. Sunday activities at the synagogue were canceled.

One of two images of the suspect with a Molotov cocktail in his hand.
Bloomfield Police Department

“People have been on heightened alert because of this and are feeling rightfully worried about the state of anti-Semitism because of how prevalent it has been lately,” Katz told the newspaper, adding. “Still, I don’t think anybody ever expects their congregation is going to be attacked.”

The temple had previously improved security measures, including adding shatter-proof barriers over the glass of the windows and doors, Katz also said, stressing “we were able to avert the worst” because the Molotov cocktail didn’t break past the doors.

Police in nearby Livingston said they had “increased our patrols of our temples” until more information about the attack on Temple Ner Tamid is disclosed.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who represents the Garden State’s 11th House District, said she was “heartbroken” by the incident.

“Although I am grateful that damage was minimal and no one was injured, I am heartbroken and angry today,” she said in a statement. “Anti-Semitic hatred is on the rise in our state, our country, and around the world and we all must work together to eradicate it.”

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said his office was working with law enforcement agencies to find the suspect.

He also said his office was also probing another “potentially bias-motivated” attack on members of a church in Monmouth County that happened Saturday, though he offered no further details.

“We are cognizant of the fact that these attacks have occurred while violence continues to erupt in Israel, and while our own nation reckons with violence at home,” Platkin said in a statement.

“I want to reassure all New Jerseyans – especially our friends and neighbors of the Black community and the Jewish faith – that law enforcement continues to take the appropriate steps to increase our presence around the sensitive places so that everyone in our state can worship, love, and live without fear of violence or threat.”