Chabad-Lubavitch centers, synagogues and Jewish community institutions throughout Connecticut took heightened security precautions on Tuesday after receiving an alert from law enforcement and state authorities that the prime suspect in a fatal shooting at Wesleyan University could be specifically targeting the campus and its Jewish community.
According to Rabbi Yisrael Deren, the head Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to the state and the Stamford-based director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Fairfield County, all 14 Chabad Houses are in constant contact with police.
“We’ve gone over a checklist of items,” said Deren, declining to specify the measures taken, citing security concerns. “All of the items on the list were already in place, because security is something we live with on a regular basis.” Turning to the Stamford center, he added: “We have also been assured by the local police department that there will be more patrols of our center.”
Citing threats suspect Stephen Morgan allegedly directed against Jews in his journal, Wesleyan officials said that Jewish students especially should take extra precautions. He is accused of murdering Johanna Justin-Jinich, 22, at an off-campus bookstore.
In Glastonbury, Rabbi Yosef Wolvovsky, who directs the Chabad Jewish Center and coordinates activities for Wesleyan’s Jewish faculty and students, said that people are understandably on edge.
“Students and faculty, particularly, are very much disturbed by what happened,” said Wolvovsky, who lives 15 minutes from the Wesleyan campus in Middletown. “Students are essentially locked down in their dorms, and the school has recommended that faculty not come into work.”
