CALIFORNIA (JNS) – The San Francisco district attorney has charged a local man with two felonies and hate crimes after he allegedly entered a Chabad center and began firing a weapon during a study session. The dramatic moments were captured in videos, which circulated widely in the news and on social media.
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Authorities allege that on Feb. 1 at 7:20 p.m., 51-year-old Dmitri Valerie Mishin entered the Schneerson Center and began firing. They also allege he fired a weapon at a local theater the day before. He is charged with “making threats obstructing exercise of religion,” disturbing a religious meeting and brandishing a replica firearm. Insofar as there is a charge of obstructing religion, prosecutors also allege he committed hate crimes.
“This is another deplorable example where our Jewish community has been targeted for who they are and what they believe,” Brooke Jenkins, San Francisco’s district attorney, said in a statement. “There is no doubt that antisemitism is real, and we must stand with our Jewish community against it.”
The DA’s office will ensure there is “zero tolerance for hate” and “no safe haven for those who perpetrate these crimes.”
The Vulnerable Victims Unit, which Jenkins established to prosecute cases where crimes have been committed against seniors, as well as hate crimes, will try the case.
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If convicted of all charges, Mishin faces up to 10 years in prison.