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Around Sept. 1, the teenager "did create a detailed plan to
complete a mass shooting at the Temple Israel" in Canton, just
south of Akron, Ohio, according to a complaint from an official
with the Stark County Sheriff's office.
The plan was allegedly posted on the messaging platform Discord
and subsequently reported to law enforcement, who investigated
and notified several individuals and agencies, including the
local school system, "which caused significant public alarm,"
the complaint said.
The teenager, whose name is redacted in the court documents, was
charged on Sept. 8 with "inducing panic" and "disorderly
conduct," according to the complaint.
An attorney who represented him in a November appearance before
the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, Family Division, did not
immediately return requests for comment.
Although the teenager allegedly planned his attack before the
Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, his pretrial hearing on Dec.
20 comes amid a surge in reported antisemitic incidents across
the United States, according to Jewish advocacy groups such as
the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
In a post on social media platform X on Wednesday, the ADL said
it was "horrified" by the charges, and expressed hope that the
arrest could be a "teachable moment" for other young people.
"Hate and threats on social media, as in real life, cannot and
will not be tolerated," the post said.
The rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic discrimination in U.S.
schools during Israel's ongoing war in Gaza prompted the U.S.
Education Department in November to open probes into six
colleges and one Kansas school district.
(Reporting by Julia Harte; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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