Baltimore Police Department officials gave an all-clear to Bnos Yisroel of Baltimore after the Orthodox day school for girls was placed briefly on lockdown May 27 when nine gunshots were reportedly fired in the vicinity of the school at 6300 Park Heights Ave.
Police officers and emergency medical service personnel responded to the call from the school.
Police believe the shots were fired shortly before 12:30 p.m. along Reisterstown Road near Bancroft Road, across from the Reisterstown Road Plaza. A dialysis center on Reisterstown Road was cordoned off with crime scene tape, according to local media reports.
“Police received several reports of gunfire being heard in the area,” said a police spokesman. “As a result, erring on the side of caution, a nearby school was placed on lockdown. Officers responded and observed evidence that a firearm had been discharged. However, no shooting victims were located.”
In a text to parents, the school’s leadership wrote, “Bnos Yisroel just had a school-side lockdown. This was based on our security officer hearing shots fired near school property. A full lockdown was established. Students and staff stayed locked down until the police cleared us to end the lockdown. There were indeed 9 shots fired within a few blocks of school.
“We thank our vigilant officers for their service and Hashem for keeping us safe.”
The incident comes on the heels of a sharp rise in anti-Semitic violence and rhetoric across North America and around the world, in the wake of the 11-day Israel-Hamas military conflict earlier this month.
Recent incidents include an assault on diners at a kosher restaurant in Los Angeles, a synagogue door smashed in Arizona and garbage flung at a Jewish family in Florida. In New York City, a Jewish man was punched, kicked and pepper-sprayed in midtown Manhattan, while a window was smashed at a kosher pizza restaurant on the Upper East Side.
Located in the former home of Har Sinai Congregation and Yeshivat Rambam, Bnos Yisroel is a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school with more than 480 students.
“Everything’s fine here and everyone’s safe,” said a school employee, who requested anonymity when reached by phone. “There appeared to be shots fired, but we got the all-clear from our security people and the police. Everything’s returned to normal.”
A committed philanthropist and community leader, Russel was president of R&H Motors.
The mother of four was a native of Winchester, Virginia, who spent most of her life in Northwest Baltimore.
The remaining 6,000 members of the community are expected to immigrate by 2030.
The Columbia resident worked on the Gemini and Apollo space missions.