The Montgomery County Police Department arrested Junior Michael Reece, 47, of no fixed address, for allegedly assaulting a rabbi on the sidewalk near the Silver Spring Jewish Center, an Orthodox synagogue in Maryland’s Kemp Mill neighborhood, on Monday morning.
“The investigation revealed that the victim, who is a rabbi, was walking on the sidewalk on Arcola Avenue when he encountered the suspect,” the department stated.
The suspect, “for unknown reasons,” per the department, “swung a wooden stake at the victim, striking him.” The victim “suffered minor injuries from the assault,” the department stated.
“Reece then left the area,” it added. “This incident is being investigated as a hate crime.”
The synagogue is part of a complex that includes a day school and nursery, for children from age 2 until second grade. The latter has an armed guard.
According to statements from witnesses and photos posted on a local Jewish group chat, which was shared with JNS, the victim had recently left the synagogue. Images shared on the chat show a man holding a wooden stake with a pointed edge walking on the street and, subsequently, being handcuffed by multiple police officers wearing blue gloves.
Some posters wrote that the man had mental-health issues.
JNS sought a copy of the incident report from Montgomery County police and asked the department for comment on whether Jews are safe in the county, which has a large Jewish population.
The department denied the JNS request to see the records, which it said “are associated with an open case and are investigatory in nature.”
“Disclosure at this time would interfere with valid and proper law enforcement proceedings,” it added.
