A 13-year-old boy who pled guilty last week to planning a mass shooting at the Temple Israel synagogue in Canton has received an extremely lenient sentence that features a year of probation, and a requirement that he read a book about Swiss diplomat Carl Lutz and do a book report on said book. Lutz is credited with saving tens of thousands of Jewish lives during World War II.
The teen, whose name has not been released to the public, was alleged by law enforcement to have created a “detailed plan to complete a mass shooting at the Temple Israel” and shared it on the online gaming communication platform Discord. According to charging documents, this “plan was reported to law enforcement and required an immediate investigatory response.”
Stark County Sheriff George Maier told WKYC-TV, “We stand by a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to threats made against our community. Every threat is investigated thoroughly with the seriousness it deserves. We work diligently to ensure that those responsible are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
The teen’s family told members of the media that the teenager is a “good, smart kid” who was allegedly influenced into anti-semitic beliefs by “older men” on Discord.
Stark County teen accused of planning mass shooting at Canton synagogueyoutu.be
As additional conditions of his plea deal, the teen will be banned from unsupervised internet use and must see a licensed therapist.
The teen was initially arrested prior to Hamas’ October 7th terrorist campaign against Israel but his sentence, which has been widely criticized, comes amidst a spike in anti-semitic violence and rhetoric in the United States and elsewhere, for which pro-Palestine liberals are frequently responsible. In particular, Jewish students on college campuses have felt threatened and have faced a number of frightening incidents.
Hamas continues to hold over 100 civilian hostages taking during the terrorist raids, a clear violation of internationally recognized rules of military engagement.