JFGO members witness to shooting at Miami-Dade JCC

(JTA) — A woman was killed at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center in Florida’s Miami-Dade County on Sunday in what police are calling an act of domestic violence.

Police said the woman was killed by her husband while she attended her daughter’s swimming lesson. In a statement, the community center said police believed there to be “no known threat to the Jewish community.”

That weekend a number of the Greater Orlando Federation and The Roth Family JCC staff members were at the Michael Ann Russell JCC for the Florida JCC Professional staff conference.

Federation CEO Keith Dvorchik stated in a message to our community, “This afternoon, while we were enjoying the conference and a session about innovation, the lockdown alert went off and we all went to the assigned lockdown space where we waited. The suspected gunman has been arrested and police have indicated that there is no known threat to the Jewish community. The security team at the Michael Ann Russell JCC did an outstanding job to keep us safe. Our staff members are safe and also traumatized from the incident.

“This makes me grateful for our security protocols on campus. I am grateful to the Florida legislature for approving $150,000 in the state budget to upgrade our bidirectional amplifier to ensure our law enforcement, first responders and emergency medical providers can communicate easily if they need to be on campus.”

Across the country, Jewish community centers are widely used by Jews and non-Jews alike. A different shooting at an Indianapolis JCC in February stemmed from a dispute during a basketball game and did not involve Jews or represent a threat to the Jewish community, authorities there said.

The statement by the Miami-Dade JCC also credited the safety trainings taken by the organization’s staff for keeping others in the building in the building safe.

“Thankfully, years of drills and numerous safety protocols ensured the safety of our members, staff, and community,” the statement said.

Christine Desouza contributed to this article.