13-year-old accused of plotting mass shooting at Temple Israel synagogue in Ohio

CANTON ‒ A 13-year-old is accused of planning a mass shooting at Temple Israel, a synagogue in Ohio.

The teen faces juvenile counts of inducing panic and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors after the threat was discovered around Sept. 1, according to court records.

The suspect "did create a detailed plan to complete a mass shooting" at the Canton, Ohio, synagogue on Discord, an online platform for group chats, court filings said. The threat was reported to law enforcement, and multiple public agencies were notified, including the school system, causing "significant public alarm within those agencies," documents said.

The boy's trial is set for Dec. 20 in Stark County Family Court. The Stark County Sheriff's Office investigated.

Rabbi David Komerofsky of Temple Israel declined to comment because the incident involves a child.

Antisemitic hate crimes rose 25% from 2021 to 2022, according to the most recent FBI statistics. Although Jewish people make up only 2.4% of the U.S. population, they are the targets of more than half of all reported religion-based hate crimes.

Since Oct. 7, the Anti-Defamation League, an advocacy group that frequently speaks out against antisemitism and extremism, has tracked 832 anti-Jewish acts in the United States.