After San Diego synagogue shooting, NYPD ramps up security for city houses of worship

NYPD Counterterrorism officers keep watch outside Temple Emanu-el on Sunday. Photo Credit: Jeff Bachner

The NYPD stepped up security for houses of worship on Sunday after one person died and several others were injured during a shooting at a synagogue in San Diego.

This is the second time in just weeks the department increased security around places of worship: The department also ramped up security outside churches on Easter Sunday following attacks on several houses of worship in Sri Lanka that left more than 200 people dead.

On Saturday, the last day of Passover, a 19-year-old man walked into a synagogue north of San Diego, yelled anti-Semitic slurs and opened fire with an A.R. 15-style gun, according to The New York Times. The attack left a 60-year-old woman dead, as well as injured the rabbi, a 34-year-old man, and a girl.

According to the NYPD, the department increased "patrols and presence at houses of worship and other sensitive locations around the city." The department was also "currently maintaining an enhanced posture at Jewish locations for Passover."

President Donald Trump offered his "deepest sympathies," according to reports, and said the attack "obviously looks right now based on my last conversations, looks like a hate crime, hard to believe."

Sen. Chuck Schumer on Sunday said the attacker may have been inspired by other attacks, and that it was important to find "ways to stop the spread of this hate" as well as address gun violence.

"This was just an awful incident, a heartless, horrific, anti-Semitic incident," Schumer said, speaking at an unrelated news conference at his New York office. "All you can say is that there are far, far too many of them. And far too many hate crimes happening in America today. It’s this kind of anti-Semitism that’s being rebutted by all borders of society. We must figure out what we can do to stop it."