Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Oct 28: Police in Naperville, a Chicago suburb with a sizeable Indian American population, have increased patrols at religious sites and are offering free security assessments to places of worship following the foiling of an alleged plot to attack a Hindu temple in neighbouring Aurora more than two weeks ago.
Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres outlined the measures during an interfaith “Dialogue on Hate Crimes” held at Wesley United Methodist Church, local broadcaster NCTV17 reported. More than 50 people representing at least seven faith communities attended the gathering.
“We have a group that will come in and does assessments of your places of worship,” Arres said. “Everything from where you have cameras, if you need them, where you may even trim bushes or add lighting to keep your facility safe, all kinds of free things that we’ll do to help the security of our community.”
He also encouraged faith leaders to participate in the police department’s free Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events course.
“If you see something suspicious, if you’re worried about something, you’re not bothering us, and it’s okay to call 911 in those situations,” he said.
The meeting was organised by United for Peace and the Naperville Interfaith Leaders Association following an alleged plot targeting the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora on October 11, the first day of Navaratri.
“The manifesto the shooter had expressed hate towards many communities and the Jewish community, African Americans, Indians, and others,” said Shalini Gupta, a board member of United for Peace.
Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli said the alleged attack targeted members of the community who were at the Hindu temple in Aurora.
“There was an attempted attack on our residents, members of our community, who were at a Hindu temple in Aurora, by somebody who was full of hate and all sorts of ideas that our community just does not tolerate,” he said.
“I find it ironic that hate has brought us together here to have real community conversations, but those conversations have to continue not just when tragedies occur,” Wehrli added. Aurora Mayor John Laesch also attended the meeting.
Saily Joshi, a Naperville resident, said the incident had caused fear because the temple was one her family regularly visited.
“To see that happen so close to home, it was scary, that’s a temple that our family goes to,” she said.
Rabbi David Eber of Congregation Beth Shalom said synagogues across the United States were already implementing similar security measures.
Prosecutors allege that Alexandros Paporakis, 19, of Palatine, a self-identified neo-Nazi, attempted to shoot a man outside the temple, but his rifle jammed. He is also accused of writing an eight-page white supremacist manifesto describing violence against people of Indian descent at a Hindu place of worship.
According to the Palatine Police Department, Paporakis faces state charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawful possession of a short-barrelled rifle. His next court date is scheduled for October 30.
No federal charges have been announced so far. The US Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has indicated that it is reviewing the case.
A group of 105 members of Congress, led by Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, has asked FBI Director Kash Patel to clarify by October 29 whether the bureau is investigating the alleged plot as a federal hate crime. Krishnamoorthi was at the temple with his family when the alleged attack was attempted.