13-year-old accused of plotting mass shooting at Canton Jewish synagogue

CANTON ‒ A 13-year-old is accused of planning a mass shooting at Temple Israel, a Jewish synagogue.

The teen faces juvenile counts of inducing panic and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.

The boy's trial is set for Dec. 20 in Stark County Family Court.

The suspect "did create a detailed plan to complete a mass shooting at the Temple Israel on the Discord platform which was reported to law enforcement and required an immediate investigatory response and notification of public individuals and agencies including the school system which caused significant public alarm within those agencies," according to a court filing in the case.

Discord is an online platform for group chats.

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The threat was discovered around Sept. 1 in Plain Township, according to court records. The Stark County Sheriff's Office investigated.

Rabbi David Komerofsky of Temple Israel declined to comment because the incident involves a child.

Antisemitic hate crimes rose 25% from 2021 to 2022, according to the most recent FBI statistics. Although Jewish people make up only 2.4% of the U.S. population, they are the targets of more than half of all reported religion-based hate crimes.

Since Oct. 7, the Anti-Defamation League, an advocacy group that frequently speaks out against antisemitism and extremism, has tracked 832 anti-Jewish acts in the United States.

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USA Today contributed to this report.

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.

On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR