An Important Message From Detroit JFederation: "There Wasn’t A Direct Imminent Threat"

Wed, 02/27/2013 - 11:58am

The recent arrest in Ohio of a convicted killer with a wide array of weapons raised concerns in the Jewish community after police revealed that one of the documents found included a reference to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit (as well as the NAACP). [News feaure: "Weapon-hoarding convict's list raises alarm for 2 ethnic leaders in metro Detroit"]Detroit Federation CEO Scott Kaufman released, on Feb. 22, a statement that has important details about the situation. We are excerpting that statement here.

Recent news reports about deficiencies in federal gun control laws and procedures included information about the arrest of an Ohio man who was found in possession of a large cache of firearms and ammunition. Also found in his residence at the time of the arrest was a handwritten note listing the names and addresses of a number of organizations including JFMD and the NAACP. Because many community members have seen or read these news reports, several of which were inaccurate or incomplete, it is important to set forth the pertinent facts:

•     There is not and was not a direct imminent threat by the suspect to the Federation or any other local Jewish agencies or building tenants.
• The suspect was arrested in December and remains in jail awaiting trial. The Federation was not informed about it until mid-January, and was later told about the arrest only because the federal indictment of the suspect was being unsealed the next day.

To read the full statement by Kaufman, please go to the Jew in the D blog.