(BLOOMFIELD, N.J.) — Authorities are searching for a suspect who allegedly threw a lit Molotov cocktail at the front door of a New Jersey synagogue early Sunday morning.
According to security video footage, the suspect approached the front door of Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey at 3:19 a.m. and threw the Molotov cocktail. The glass bottle broke but did not cause any damage, and the suspect then fled, the Bloomfield Police Department said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
Surveillance pictures shared by police show the suspect was wearing a ski mask.
Local law enforcement is investigating alongside the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement that his office is “working closely with local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies, to identify and apprehend the suspect in this attack. Our investigation remains ongoing.”
The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said in a tweet that they are “closely monitoring” the incident, and urge “all faith-based communities to remain vigilant.”
In a joint statement, the Anti-Defamation League of New York/New Jersey, the Jewish Federations of North Jersey and other groups said they were “outraged” to hear of the incident, which came just days after International Holocaust Remembrance Day and within months of other security threats to New Jersey synagogues.
“We urge our leaders and community partners to speak out against this outrageous act and ask that all communities remain vigilant, though we have not been informed of any particular additional threats to Jewish institutions in New Jersey at this time,” the groups wrote.
Rep. Mikkie Sherill (D-N.J.), who represents the district where Bloomfield is located, wrote on Twitter that she is in touch with law enforcement and that “my prayers” are with the community.
“Anti-Semitic hatred is on the rise in our state, our country and around the world, and we all must work together to eradicate it,” Sherrill wrote.
Evan Bernstein, CEO of Community Security Services, a group that trains volunteer security teams to help keep Jewish institutions safe, wrote in a statement to ABC News that “we have to be aware that the threat level against our communities are increasing, in the United States and abroad.”
The incident comes at a time when synagogues and Jewish institutions around the country continue to navigate what experts say is a volatile and difficult security environment for American Jews.
ABC News’ Matt Foster contributed to this report.
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