Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 04 December 2023

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters. 

Suspected terror attack in France; One dead, two injured, after attacker yells ‘Allahu akbar’ and attacks passersby near Eiffel Tower

One person was killed and two others were injured late Saturday night after an attacker allegedly shouted, “Allahu akbar” and lunged at passersby in central Paris. According to reports, the attack occurred near the Eiffel Tower, and the attacker, who was born in France, is known to suffer from psychiatric disorders. Local police said that the attacker said he “cannot stand” when Muslims are killed anywhere in the world and told police he was upset about the situation in Gaza.

Shortly before Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab’s attack, a video claiming responsibility for his actions was posted on social media. In the video, the assailant refers to “current events, the government, the murder of innocent Muslims,” said a security source quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP). At this stage, investigators do not know when the video was shot, but it was posted online “concurrently” with the attack, according to this source.

Analyst Comments:

While we often talk about security through the lens of our facilities and houses of worship, a large part of maintaining a culture of security is the ensure that the members of our communities are aware of threats that exist, and that acts of violence like that can occur anytime, anywhere. As we continue to track targeted acts of violence across the world reminding members of our community of best practices in regard to personal safety considerations is highly recommended.

Related items:

• Knifeman kills German tourist, wounds others near France’s Eiffel Tower
• Paris knife attacker ‘swore allegiance to IS’ terrorist group, suffered from mental issues
• Paris attack: Mother of suspect had ‘reported concerns’, prosecutor says
• Paris stabbing attack which leaves 1 dead investigated as terrorism; suspect arrested
• Paris attack: How the terrorist’s confusing profile fooled those monitoring him
• Paris attack: What we know about Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, who killed one and injured others near the Eiffel Tower

Las Vegas police, FBI foil reported terror plot involving Islamic State

Las Vegas police and the FBI thwarted a potential terror plot involving a 16-year-old, police said Friday. During a news conference, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officials detailed an investigation into a terror threat on a social media platform. The image of the threat was shown by LVMPD officials. It read: “Peace be upon all brothers who see this. I am here to announce that I will be starting lone wolf operations in Las Vegas against the enemies of Allah. I ask you to make Dua for victory. I am a supporter of the Islamic State, and I will make sure the zionists in this city know it.” The post included an ISIS flag and words in Arabic… Police described the suspect as a 16-year-old from Las Vegas who was a recent convert to Islam. A search warrant was served, and the teenager was taken into custody without incident. A police search found components for building an improvised explosive device along with bomb-making recipes and instructions, Deputy Chief Dori Koren said Friday.

Analyst Comments:

Sadly, Faith-Based Organizations need to remain vigilant and defend against active shooters and other types of hostile events. There is no clear profile based upon the demographics of a potentially violent person. Behaviors need to be judged, not people. The two examples above are good examples of observing threatening behavior, taking action, and possibly averting a disaster.

Several resources that FBOs may want to consider reviewing include:

• FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) Course | IS-904: Active Shooter Prevention: You Can Make a Difference
• CISA’s Non-Confrontational Techniques
• CISA’s Protective Security Advisors (PSA) Security Advisors
• CISA’s Pathway to Violence: Warning Signs and What You Can Do
• CISA’s Active Shooter – How to Respond Poster

Additionally, Faith-Based ISAO’s website provides resources in the Resource Library, including information on Securing Facilities and People.

London Borough Cancels Hanukkah Menorah: Risks ‘Inflaming Tensions’

A London local council has cancelled its annual Hanukkah candles this year as doing so could “risk further inflaming tensions within our communities”, they say. Havering Council in East London is scaling back its Hanukkah celebration this year, and won’t put up a Menorah for eight days and nights, and will instead have a “temporary instillation and event” on December 7th which ITV London reports “will be taken down after”.

The council said, per the report, that their decision to cancel the outdoor menorah was in no way motivated by any feeling of antisemitism on behalf of their organization, but rather from fear the candelabra could be vandalized. Proceeding with erecting the menorah could “risk further inflaming tensions within our communities”, it was claimed, because of “escalating tensions from the conflict in the Middle East”.

Analyst Comments:

As we discussed in a recent Weekly Report that highlighted increased risks around the holiday season, the ongoing conflict between Israel and HAMAS continues to a lightning rod and as we’ve seen in some of the other stories we have shared today, are continuing to motivate hostile and hate filled responses across the globe. Security practitioners will want to continually assess risk and security vulnerabilities, and like the Havering Council, make adjustments to planned activities or celebrations if there are real or perceived threats.