Charges will not be filed after Monday synagogue incident
Butler city police said Tuesday, June 18, charges will not be filed against a man who left a package at Congregation B’nai Abraham on Monday, as the package did not contain any dangerous material.
The incident resulted in a large police response Monday afternoon.
Officers responded to the synagogue around 3:45 p.m. after a man dropped the package in the mailbox on North Main Street and was rambling incoherently, according to a news release from Robert O’Neill, city police chief.
The release indicated the man left the area prior to police arrival.
Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer, the synagogue’s spiritual leader, said Monday she had called police “out of an abundance of caution” after receiving a call from someone who seemed incoherent Monday afternoon. The synagogue was evacuated during the incident.
The package was removed from the area and a perimeter was set up, according to police. Technicians with the state police determined the package contained no dangerous material, according to the release.
The synagogue’s caretaker, Ben Vincent, said Monday that he was told by authorities the writings in the package did not indicate anything “hateful or antisemitic.”
Police said the man who left the package was identified and interviewed, but charges would not be filed due to the nature of the incident.
“It was determined that while this behavior was alarming, it was not criminal. There are no charges pending,” the release read.
