Highland Park Police Increase Patrols At Local Synagogues

HIGHLAND PARK, NJ — Police in Highland Park have increased their presence at local synagogues starting Thursday night, Highland Park Police announced on Facebook.

This is in response to an alert from the FBI, who said Thursday they received a credible potential threat to New Jersey synagogues. The FBI did not elaborate what the threat is.

Police will remain at Highland Park synagogues throughout the weekend. Highland Park has a large Jewish population.

However, just Friday morning the suspect who made threats against New Jersey synagogues has been apprehended, officials said.

Police in Interlaken (Monmouth County) said they identified and apprehended the individual who made the threats as of Friday morning.

"He is described as a lone actor who is an extremist," the Borough of Interlaken Police Department relayed from a call between federal, state and local law enforcement. "No further information is going to be provided at this time."

"While there are no specific implication to Highland Park, we are working closely with our partners at the FBI Newark, Middlesex County Prosecutor’s office and Edison Police Department to ensure that our borough remains safe," said Highland Park Police. "Out of an overwhelming abundance of caution, residents can expect to see an increased police presence around synagogues. The information available does not specify any particular region of New Jersey, and it makes no mention of the origin or nature of the threat."

"Law enforcement will be increasing patrols in sensitive areas," said New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin. "Some of these patrols will be in marked vehicles and others will not – but please do not be alarmed if you observe an increase in police presence as we are taking these steps in an abundance of caution. We also call upon New Jersey residents to be extra vigilant and if you see suspicious activity please report it to your local authorities."

Anti-Semitic murders have occurred in New Jersey in the last few years. Three years ago, a mother of three, a police officer, and four others were killed in Jersey City in an antisemitic attack.

Elsewhere, in Pittsburgh in October 2018, 11 people were killed in a shooting at a synagogue.

This past week, a North Jersey synagogue commemorated Krystallnacht, a two-day period in which Nazi rhetoric gave way to a wave of violence. From Nov. 9-10, 1938, Jewish people were beaten and synagogues attacked in Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland, making it clear that the group's verbal attacks on Jewish people were not just idle threats, as some in the U.S. had believed in the 1930s.