76-year-old man attacked, robbed outside of synagogue in Baltimore

BALTIMORE — Baltimore Police are searching for two suspects who robbed a 76-year-old man at gun point and stole his car.

It happened Wednesday around 6:20 a.m. in the parking lot of Agudath Israel of Baltimore while the man was on his way to a service.

Police said when the victim got out of his car, two men came out of nowhere, held him at gun point and demanded he hand over the keys to his car.

He complied but after he did, the suspects hit him over his head with an unknown object, police said.

The victim is doing okay after he refused to be taken to the hospital.

“It’s just outrageous. It’s just not acceptable,” said Nate Willner, who is general counsel for the Baltimore Shomrim Safety Patrol, an organization that provides security for the neighborhood. “Each one of these incident lays on another layer of anxiety and apprehension the community has about crime.”

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The organization also helped the synagogue beef up security around the area. A company called Vision Detection Systems provided a mobile surveillance unit— fitted with cameras and motion sensors—free of charge.

“When someone needs help, we drop what we’re doing and try to help as much as possible,” said Joe Kruk, who is the chief tech officer for the company. “I grew up in the community. I grew up down the block and I want everybody to be safe. I want everyone to be able to walk down the block and feel the sense of security.”

Willner calls what’s happening in Baltimore a challenging time. And he said it’s starting to feel like it’s not safe no matter where you go in the city.

“When Officer Keona Holley was murdered in a car, if you are a police officer and you’re not safe, that’s even a bigger question of where are you safe,” he said.

Police said the victim’s car that was stolen in the incident was a 2021 Honda Accord.

If you know anything about what happened, give police a call.