Today’s shooting at the United States Holocaust Museum is shocking and deeply disturbing on several counts.

B’nai B’rith is appalled that the shooting took place in a building dedicated to remembering the worst genocide in history. The museum was founded in the hope that, by remembering the Shoah, it will never be repeated. For it to be the site of a shooting by a man identified as anti-Semitic and a white supremacist is testimony to the need for humanity to take actions to prevent hate incidents from ever happening again.

Authorities have identified the gunman as James W. von Brunn, a known white supremacist who runs a website with anti-Semitic writing.

B’nai B’rith is highly sensitive to the impact of hate-filled terror, as many staff members at B’nai B’rith headquarters were held hostage for 39 hours in 1977 by members of the Hanafi Muslim sect.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns, who was killed in the attack.