Palm Springs Police stepping up patrols at synagogues after attacks on Israel
The Palm Springs Police Dept. will be stepping up its patrols at synagogues around the city following the devastating attacks on Israel.
PSPD Chief Andy Mills announced the plans on social media Monday morning.
"Terrorism and hate is always unacceptable. The attack on Israel cannot be tolerated and must be widely condemned. I have been reading intelligence reports and as of now we do not believe there is a threat to our community. Regardless, Palm Springs Police Department, CA is stepping up patrols at our synagogues and will continue to monitor events. It’s a good time to show our Jewish community support."
- PSPD Chief Andy Mills via social media
Mills told News Channel 3's Peter Daut that police and many people here are genuinely concerned about terrorist attacks, including at local synagogues. So his department wants to be prepared and is going on the defensive.
He says the biggest concern is a lone-wolf type of attack or a protest that gets out of control.
"What advice do you have Chief Mills for people here who might be concerned about their security, and what do they need to be on the lookout for?" Peter asked Mills.
"First of all, if you see something say something. No stone should be left unturned. If somebody's making threatening statements either online or in person, we would really like to know about it," Mills said.
"We want to make sure that our community is safe, and we are fully intent on making sure that we've done everything we can do to protect our community."
- pspd chief andy mills
You can watch the full, in-depth interview with Mills about patrols at the top of the article.
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PSPD's announcement follows a similar trend across the United States following the attacks in Israel.
While many authorities say there have been no credible threats, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued “public safety concern” bulletins to state and local law enforcement agencies over the weekend, a law enforcement official said.
So far, the agencies said there was no “current specific intelligence indicating a threat to the United States,” the official said.
But a rabbi in Salt Lake City said he was forced to stop services Sunday and evacuate the synagogue after the congregation received a bomb threat. Salt Lake City police said officers searched three local Jewish institutions but did not find anything suspicious, the affiliate reported.
The city with the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel – New York City – has not faced any specific or credible threats against the Jewish community in the aftermath of the attack in Israel, Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday.
But, Adams said Monday he has “directed the NYPD to deploy additional resources to Jewish communities and houses of worship citywide to ensure that our communities have the resources they need to make sure everyone feels safe.”
The heightened vigilance in the US comes after Gaza militants launched a surprise attack on Israel Saturday morning, firing thousands of rockets and entering Israel by land, sea and air.
Israel then launched airstrikes on Gaza while its forces clashed on the ground with Hamas fighters.
More than 900 people were killed and thousands more were injured in Israel, officials said. And in Gaza, more than 680 Palestinians were killed, the Palestinian health ministry said.
