Synagogue president stabbed to death in Detroit
President of a Detroit synagogue, Samantha Woll was found dead outside her home on Saturday. The police are calling not to draw hasty conclusions.
PublishedOctober 22, 2023, 03:30
The local branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will “assist the Detroit Police Department” in the investigation into the death of Samantha Woll.
AFP
The president of a progressive synagogue in Detroit, in the northern United States, was found stabbed to death outside her home on Saturday, and police warned against speculation about the motive for the killing.
Samantha Woll, 40, chaired the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and was close to local Democratic Party officials. Called to the scene in a neighborhood of Detroit, a large city in Michigan, police officers and doctors discovered that a person “was lying on the ground, unconscious” before being “declared dead on the spot”, noted the local police in a statement.
“On site, police officers observed a trail of blood which led them to the victim’s home where the crime apparently was committed,” continued the city police. The first “examinations on the victim’s body revealed multiple knife wounds and the investigation was thus entrusted to the criminal brigade for homicide,” added the police, specifying that “the motive for this murder remained unknown”.
“Many questions”
Local police chief James White urged everyone to “remain patient” despite “many unanswered questions” as the investigation takes place. “It is important that no conclusions are drawn before all available (elements) are examined,” James White said in a statement.
The local section of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) “will assist the Detroit police,” the FBI told AFP in a statement sent by email. The synagogue chaired by Samantha Woll declared itself on its Facebook page “in shock and saddened to learn of the sudden death” of the president of its board of directors.
According to the daily “Detroit Free Press”, Samantha Woll had been at the head of the place of worship since 2022, had previously worked for Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and worked for the re-election campaign of Michigan Attorney Dana Nessel, a Democrat like Samantha Woll. Dana Nessel spoke personally to X, saying she was “shocked, saddened and horrified by the violent murder of Sam.”
The mayor of Detroit “annihilated”
“Sam really relied on his faith and his activism to create a better living space for everyone,” praised the prosecutor. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he was “devastated” by the death of Samantha Woll. “Just a few weeks ago, I shared a happy day with Sam at (a ceremony at the) newly renovated Downtown Synagogue,” Mike Duggan wrote on X. “It was a project she had led with success, great pride and enthusiasm,” added the elected official.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Samantha Woll was a member of a local organization aimed at forging links between young Jews and young Muslims. The United States, particularly New York, is shaken by demonstrations, tensions and some reported violence between Jewish and Muslim groups, fueled by the war in the Middle East between Hamas and Israel.
(AFP)
2023-10-22 01:30:10
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