Suspect attempted to enter Washington, DC, synagogue with firearm — police

Man charged with weapons offenses after congregation’s security team found gun during entry screening

By Luke Tress

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9 November 2026, 10:47 pm

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Luke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.

Washinton Hebrew Congregation, pictured in 2014. (Wikimedia Commons)

Cops in Washington, DC, detained a suspect who attempted to enter a synagogue with an illegal firearm over the weekend, the city’s Metropolitan Police Department said on Monday.

Police officers received a call from the Washington Hebrew Congregation at around 10:15 a.m. on Saturday, a department spokesperson said.

Synagogue security staff told responding officers that they had found the firearm with a metal detector, seized the weapon, and detained the suspect.

Police recovered the firearm and arrested 32-year-old Tyler Finn at the scene, the department said.

Finn, from Lynchburg, Virginia, was charged with carrying a pistol without a license and possession of an unregistered firearm and ammunition.

There was no immediate information about the suspect’s motive.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington said in a statement that no one was injured and there were no known, ongoing threats to the local Jewish community.

“This incident underscores the importance of a strong, coordinated culture of security across our community,” the federation said.

The synagogue is a prominent Reform congregation, founded in 1852, with around 2,000 member families, according to its website.

US Jewish communities have invested vast sums in security since a white supremacist murdered 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018.

Those efforts have increased due to the surge in antisemitism following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist invasion of Israel.

The Jewish Federations of North America estimated in September that US Jewish communities spend around $1.05 billion on security per year.

In May 2025, an anti-Zionist shooter murdered two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC.

Also last year, an anti-Zionist attacker firebombed a rally for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, killing an elderly woman.

There have been repeated terror attack attempts against US Jews in recent years that were thwarted by law enforcement and Jewish community security organizations or guards.

Last year was the deadliest year for Diaspora Jews in decades, with 20 Jews murdered in four separate incidents.