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Shooting Victim Sues Chabad of Poway; Says Fed $$$ Not Used for Protection

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By: Ciril McAllister

One of the shooting victims in the Chabad of Poway shooting in California back in April is suing the synagogue, claiming it failed to provide adequate protection by not using federal funds meant to hire security to protect its congregants.

“In the 12-page lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Almog Peretz says that the synagogue did not have proper security despite a rise in anti-Semitic attacks nationally and that it did not use a $150,000 grant to upgrade security measures,” reported The Jerusalem Post.

John Timothy Earnest was charged with a count of murder and three counts of attempted murder in the April 27 attack.

“According to court documents, Earnest _ 19 at the time _ walked into the synagogue on the last day of Passover, the holiest of Jewish holidays, and opened fire. Surveillance video of the lobby of the Chabad shows a man firing an assault-style rifle from just outside the front door, hitting Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, as she turned to run. She died at the doors to the sanctuary after being shot twice from the back, according to a San Diego County deputy medical examiner,” the Post added.

San Diego County Deputy Dist. Atty. Leonard Trinh charged that Earnest “then turned toward a room where several people, including children, were inside and fired his weapon. Among those in the room were Almog Peretz, 34, who was shot in the leg, and his 8-year-old niece, Noya Dahan, who was struck in her face and leg by bullet fragments,” according to The Los Angeles Times. “In filing the lawsuit, Peretz said the synagogue breached its “duty of reasonable care” in protecting congregants.

“When Peretz saw the gunman, he grabbed his niece in one arm, a 4-year-old girl in the other and ran outside toward a playground filled with children,” the Times report continued. “But when he noticed another of his nieces wasn’t with him, he ran back into the building. That’s when he noticed the blood on his pants and realized he had been shot.”

Another of the survivors, Oscar Stewart, who reportedly chased the shooter away, told FOX 5, “I am shocked to hear the Chabad of Poway was awarded a $150,000 grant towards security and nothing was done or even planned.”

The Fox News report went on to quote a woman “who goes to the synagogue but did not wish to be identified said she feels Weinberg’s client is just trying to be retaliatory and grab money for himself. “They say they didn’t have enough time but we see right through that,” Weinberg said.

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