Yeshiva student shot and killed during late-night crime spree in Denver
Yeshiva Toras Chaim is located in the West Colfax neighborhood of Denver and is part of the historic center of the city’s Jewish community. Image by wikipedia
(JTA) — A 19-year-old student at an Orthodox yeshiva in Denver was shot and killed while standing outside his school building early Wednesday morning, according to reports in the local and Orthodox media.
The shooting came shortly after two attempted carjackings near Yeshiva Toras Chaim.
“At this time, it does not appear that it was a bias-motivated incident, but we are still in the early stages of the investigation,” a Denver Police Department spokesperson told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, adding they were not ruling out the possibility.
The police have enlisted the public’s help in finding three cars used in the incidents.
Multiple Jewish news organizations have identified the victim as Shmuel Silverberg of University Heights, a heavily Orthodox suburb of Cleveland. Silverberg is scheduled to be buried in Lakewood, New Jersey, at 1 a.m. Friday, according to the Lakewood Scoop, an Orthodox news site there.
Yeshiva Toras Chaim in Denver is a 54-year-old outpost of the Lakewood yeshiva of the same name. Located in the West Colfax neighborhood, it is part of the historic center of the city’s Jewish community and also within a block of upscale eateries and yoga studios.
StopAntisemitism, an organization that calls out antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents, drew attention to the murder on its social media accounts. But Hamodia, the Orthodox news service, reported early Wednesday that people assisting the grieving family were told that police did not think the shooting targeted Silverberg because of his religion.
—
The post Yeshiva student shot and killed during late-night crime spree in Denver appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
