After two Israeli Embassy staffers were killed in a shooting Wednesday night outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., police are stepping up patrols in Montgomery County.
County Police Chief Marc Yamada said officers will provide increased, high visibility patrols around Jewish institutions at least through the end of the week.
“As soon as we became aware of [shooting], we began to reach out… to the district commanders, we extended some communication through various means to our contacts in the Jewish community to let them know that we are in support of them as always,” Yamada said during a media briefing Thursday.
County Chief Administrative Officer Rich Madaleno said the county police department is well-acquainted with high-visibility Jewish institutions in the county. County Executive Marc Elrich is recovering from bronchitis and did not attend the briefing.
“We will continue our operations in that, until such time that we can feel confident that our community feels a little bit better,” Chief of Patrol Darren Francke said.
During a county council session Thursday, Council President Kate Stewart took a moment to acknowledge the shooting and remember the victims — Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who were a couple.
“We know many in our community knew the young couple, whose work focused on bringing together people of different faiths and cultures,” Stewart said. “The violent, antisemitic attack has shaken our community, and we want to extend our thoughts and support to all those impacted by the violence.”
“Absolutely horrified by the senseless killing at the Capital Jewish Museum,” Councilmember Evan Glass said on X.
“I am devastated and heartbroken,” Councilmember Andrew Friedson said on X. “My thoughts are with the victims and their families, AJC, and the entire Jewish community.”
