Chabad Rabbi Says Highland Park Shooter Entered His Synagogue on Passover

Rabbi Yosef Schanowitz runs a Chabad synagogue just two blocks from where the shooting happened on Monday, which targeted Highland Park, one of the most Jewish neighborhoods in Chicago, according to JTA and began in the middle of a klezmer band playing. A few weeks before the massacre, antisemitic flyers had been distributed throughout community, sources told Insider.

After the photo of the alleged suspect Robert E. Crimo III was released, the Rabbi realized it wasn’t the first time he had seen his face. He remembered that he had asked the same man to leave the synagogue just a few months prior.

“During the last Passover holiday, that person entered the Chabad synagogue. We have an armed security guard sitting in front… I approached him and sternly asked him to leave as I noticed he was not a member of our community,” Schanowitz was quoted as saying.

It sounds like his actions could have stopped an attack that would have happened then.

Since the shooting, Rabbi Schanowitz is trying to provide comfort to those affected. He has been in touch with the victim’s families and went to the emergency room following the tragedy to comfort the injured.

“I told them I was clergy and I wished them all the best,” Schanowitz said, noting that while “most of the people I saw were not of the Jewish faith, there were a few who were.”

“It just drives home that we’re living in an imperfect world,” he continues, “and we have work to do.”

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Alex Abel

Alex is an editor, writer and content creator. Most recently she served as the Editor-in-Chief of 2.0, Mishpacha’s business magazine. Before that she was the News Editor at People Style where she covered entertainment, fashion, beauty and lifestyle. She has interviewed dozens of celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Kate Hudson, Melissa McCarthy, Priyanka Chopra, and Khloé Kardashian. She’s worked and created partnerships with influencers, hosted and produced videos and managed the brand’s social media accounts. Previously, she worked as an assistant editor at Seventeen. Her work has also appeared on POPSUGAR.com, People.com, Time.com, SHAPE and the website she launched, Chai on Life, which profile and highlights inspirational Jewish women.” During Hurricane Irene, she worked as a stringer for the New York Times reporting on flood conditions. She is a graduate of Binghamton University with a degree in English.