Statement
Statement from Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich on Incident and Arrest at Jewish Day School in Rockville
For Immediate Release: Friday 13 June
I find yesterday's incident at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School deeply disturbing. I want to commend the off-duty Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) officers working security at the school who acted quickly to protect students, staff and families. They intervened after a man with a pocketknife drove to the school, around traffic cones, then refused to comply with orders to get out of the vehicle.
I know this will heighten the fears and concerns of our Jewish community, especially following the recent violent attacks outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., and during a solidarity walk in Boulder, Colorado. The rise in antisemitic violence across the country is alarming. These threats are real, and people here feel them every day.
According to police, the man faces multiple counts of assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest though the investigation determined there was no evidence of intent to harm anyone associated with the school. While MCPD is not classifying this as a hate crime at this time, it does not diminish the community concern.
Montgomery County is committed to protecting all of our residents. That’s why we’ve invested in nonprofit security grants, expanded support for law enforcement and created tools like our hate bias reporting portal. Keeping our community safe, however, also means working together. If you see something suspicious, please say something and call 911 immediately.
I’m grateful no one was seriously injured.
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Release ID: 25-015