Applications for gun permits are surging in New York’s Rockland County after five Orthodox Jews were stabbed at a Hanukkah celebration at a local rabbi’s home.
The Rockland County Clerk’s office reported a nearly 1,000% increase in gun permit applications in the week following the Dec. 28 attack. The county clerk received 65 new gun permit applications, according to the New York Post. Before the attack, the office received an average of about six applications a week.
All but five of the new applications originated from the town of Ramapo, where the attack took place. Ramapo contains several heavily Jewish communities.
“A lot of people are worried, especially the large Hasidic and Jewish community in Rockland County,” said Erik Melanson, who owns Precision Gunsmiths in Rockland County. “I have had rabbis come in. Some of the rabbis already have concealed carry [permits].”
Police arrested 37-year-old Grafton Thomas and charged him with five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary in connection with the attack at the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg.
On Dec. 10, two gunmen opened fire in a Jewish market in New Jersey, killing three civilians and a police officer. Officers fatally shot the attackers after an hours-long gun battle.
Several Jewish groups organized a “solidarity march” on Jan. 5 in support of Jewish victims of anti-Semitism. Roughly 25,000 people attended the march through the streets of New York City and across the Brooklyn Bridge.
