San Diego, CA
The gun violence that has taken place in the last two days is prompting San Diego community members to take action.
As local members of the Jewish community celebrated the first day of Hanukkah, they joined in solidarity with those impacted by the tragedy in Australia.
Meanwhile, other members of the community honored the lives lost to gun violence.
Despite the somber and tragic events that have unfolded in the last two days, the community is holding strong.
San Diegans are choosing to focus on the light rather than the darkness.
“Our job is not just to spread light with words, but with actions,” Rabbi Yossi Tiefenbrun, Director of Chabad of Pacific Beach said.
As members of the Jewish community gathered at Liberty Station Sunday night to kick off the first day of Hannukah by the lighting of the menorah, their hearts are with their brothers and sisters in Bondi, Australia, where two attackers killed at least 15 people in a shooting during the Jewish holiday celebration.
“Personally, it’s been a very difficult day. The Rabbi in the city of Australia was a classmate of mine. We grew up together in London, England. So waking up to that kind of news was devastating,” Rabbi Yossi Tiefenbrun said.
The tragedy in Australia comes just hours after a gunman opened fire at Brown University, killing two and injuring at least nine others.
“For every shooting, for every death, there’s a family behind that. There are friends, there are loved ones,” Carol Landale said.
Sunday also marks 13 years since a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Connecticut, killing 20-first graders and 6 staff members.
“When will this stop… When will the powers of this world say enough?” Rev. Penny Bridges, Dean, St. Paul Cathedral said.
The annual vigil of remembrance for the victims of gun violence was held Sunday night at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
“In this festive time of advent and festive season of Hanukkah, we call on our loving and living God to bring peace to our world, to end the evil of Gun violence,” Rev. Penny Bridges said.
With violence erupting on the first day of Hanukkah, the head of security for the Jewish Federation said they are working with other law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety of everyone in the community.
“I think it’s important for everyone to know that there are no articulated threats in our area we just have to be situationally aware,” Bill Ganley, Community Security Director for the Jewish Federation said.
San Diegans are standing strong in solidarity for one another, hoping for a brighter future ahead.
“We will fight with light whenever there is darkness,” Michael Sclar, who attended the menorah lighting said.
In a statement to NBC 7, The American Jewish Committee of San Diego said in part, “Sadly, this is not an isolated incident, and while we are horrified and devastated, we are not surprised…Hanukkah is time for joy and light and this year, we hope others will join us as we light our candles in solidarity with the Australian Jewish community. Because antisemitism is a threat to all of society and if we fail to push back against this evil hatred, everyone is at risk.
San Diego, CA
SDPD investigating suspicious death
UNIVERSITY CITY (KGTV) — San Diego police are investigating the death of an 81-year-old woman who was found unresponsive in her apartment in the 6300 block of Genesee Avenue.
Officers and San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel responded to a 9-1-1 call at about 11:56 p.m. on March 6.
First responders found the woman in her bedroom, unresponsive and “positioned awkwardly on a bed.” Despite immediate life-saving efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives from the San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit were called to the scene due to “unusual circumstances,” police said. The cause and manner of death remain undetermined.
Investigators are working with the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine what happened.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
This story has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
San Diego, CA
One killed in fiery three-vehicle crash on 805 freeway in San Diego
A person was killed Sunday in a fiery three-vehicle crash on the Jacob Dekema (805) Freeway in San Diego, authorities said.
The crash occurred at 4:22 a.m. Sunday on the northbound freeway south of Miramar Road, the California Highway Patrol reported.
At least one vehicle struck the center divider and caught fire, the CHP said.
The numbers one through five lanes of the northbound freeway were closed at 6:01 a.m. for an unknown duration.
No further information was immediately available.
San Diego, CA
Veterans weigh in on U.S. involvement in Iran
“It seems pointless. They change the reason for aggression against Iran daily,” Army Veteran, Forest Gray said.
Gray was among dozens of protestors who gathered at Memorial Community Park in Logan Heights Saturday calling for an end to the war in Iran.
Seeing the conflict play out is personal for him. Gray served eight years in the front lines in the Middle East.
“I fought in Iraq and you know, everyone wears the uniform, and gets deployed, we kind of expect and accept that we have to put our lives on the line, but ideally it should be a sense for a greater good. I don’t see what greater good there is here,” Gray said.
Gray is not alone.
Jonathan Chavez who served in the U.S. Marine Corps at Miramar Base in San Diego also disagrees with the U.S. involvement in Iran.
“No one wants these wars, no one has asked for these wars. Public opinion in this country is also very clear, the vast majority of Americans do not support these conflicts,” Chavez said.
Some Iranian Americans took a different stance last week, as hundreds took the streets of Clairemont.
“It was a feeling of euphoria knowing that my people are free, knowing that a dictator that has ruled Iran with iron fists for well over 37 years, has been killed, has been pushed out of the power and we can have a democratic Iran,” Bobby Shah told NBC 7.
Despite the sentiment, Saturday’s protest was hosted by an organization opposed to war in the Middle East.
They used signs and chants to make their stance clear: Stop the War in Iran.
Watching from a distance we found Marine Corps Veteran Chris Mondestin.
Even though he was not part of the protest, he also opposes the war saying the conflict should stay between Iran and Israel and the U.S. should stay out of it.
“It’s real scary. It’s real scary because I know there’s a lot of people that are truly against this war, but they don’t have much of a voice. That’s why I was kind of happy to see this, because we do have a voice. We just got to speak loud,” Mondestin said.
He also worries about the effects the war could have on the country’s safety, economy, and relationship with countries in the Middle East.
According to Iranian Diaspora Dashboard from UCLA’s Center of Near Eastern Studies, about 600,000 Iranians live in the U.S. and about half of them are in California.
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