SAN FRANCISCO—Dmitri Mishin, 51, is being investigated for shooting a gun within the Schneerson Jewish Center on Wednesday, February 1, at around 7:20 p.m. The San Francisco Police Department and FBI are leading this investigation.
The shooting took place on 2600 block of Balboa Street. The suspect is said to have made verbal threats and shot several rounds of blanks within the building. The center holds religious services and classes along with social activities for the local Russian Jewish community. There were no reported injuries.
Surveillance video showed the suspect wearing a baseball cap, jacket and sneakers entering a room with more than a dozen people at a table. The man made hand gestures before taking out a gun and firing. As an elderly man approached him, he headed to the door, saluted and left.
The vice president of the Schneerson Center, Junior rabbi Alon Chanukov, believes that this attack was targeted. Chanuknov stated that Mishin spoke in Russian and appeared to be a friendly visitor. As he left the building he made remarks about Mossad before fleeing the scene. Mossad is Israel’s national intelligence agency.
Heightened security measures were taken for this weekend’s Shabbat which are held at sundown on Fridays. Authorities patrolled the area surrounding the small synagogue on Saturday, February 4.
Surveillance video that was taken Tuesday, January 31, shows Mishin entering a nearby theatre located on the 3600 block of Balboa Street armed with a handgun which he did not fire. He fled the scene and no one reported injuries that evening.
“Based on these recent reports, which appear to be unrelated, the subject’s description is similar and is possibly the same individual,” detectives tweeted on February 2. Officers developed probable cause to obtain a search warrant and searched the suspect’s home.
Mishin was arrested for suspicion of disturbing a religious assembly, brandishing an imitation firearm and causing another to refrain from engaging in a religious service, on Friday, February 3. He was arrested with no incident.
He was booked into jail on Saturday, February 4, at 12:30 a.m. and is being held without bail.
The SFPD are still investigating the case. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD 24-hour Tip Line at (415) 575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
