US state of Michigan
“We are shocked and sad”: Detroit synagogue leader found dead with stab wounds
Police officers at the crime scene
© Sarah Rice / AFP
In the United States, relations between Muslim and Jewish communities are strained because of the war in the Middle East. Now the leader of a synagogue has been found stabbed to death. According to police, the motive is still unclear.
Unidentified people have killed the leader of a synagogue community in Detroit, Michigan. Samantha Woll, chairwoman of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was found dead by rescue workers on Saturday (local time) “with multiple stab wounds to her body,” police said. A trail of blood led the officers to the 40-year-old’s nearby house, “where the crime probably occurred,” it said. The background to the crime is still unknown. “This crime leaves many unanswered questions,” Police Chief James White wrote on X (formerly Twitter). He warned against jumping to conclusions until all available facts have been examined.
The incident came amid rising tensions between Jewish and Muslim communities in the USA after the major Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th and the subsequent Israeli retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip.
The synagogue leader was committed to intercultural activities
Woll has headed the Isaac Agree Synagogue in the center of the US metropolis since 2022, as the Detroit Free Press newspaper reported. She was also politically active. She previously worked for Democratic Representative Elissa Slotkin and the re-election campaign of Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel, also a Democrat. She wrote on X: “I am shocked, saddened and horrified to learn of Sam’s brutal murder.” Woll was the kindest person she had ever known.
The synagogue community also expressed their horror on Facebook. A statement on its Facebook page said: “We are shocked and saddened by the unexpected death of our Chief Executive Officer Samantha Woll.” However, she currently has no further information about the crime. The Federal Police FBI is supporting the investigation, it was said.