Investigation into shooting at Jewish summer camp in Maine: Police suspect antisemitic motive
A significant development in the investigation of the shooting incident that put hundreds of children and staff at a Jewish summer camp in Maine into lockdown: court documents revealed on Saturday show that as early as the initial investigation, police suspected an antisemitic bias — a detail not included in the initial reports of the incident.
A significant development arrived today (Tuesday) in the investigation of a shooting incident that put hundreds of children and staff at a Jewish summer camp in Maine into lockdown. The incident occurred on August 7 near Camp Modin, a long-standing Jewish summer camp in the town of Belgrade.
The suspect in the shooting, 36-year-old Nathan Hewett, who lives near the camp site, is suspected of firing about 20 rounds from a semi-automatic rifle following a confrontation with security personnel. At least 400 campers and staff were present at the time. No one was injured.
Camp Modin is one of the oldest Jewish summer camps in the United States. It was founded in 1922 by three couples of Jewish educators, out of a desire to strengthen the Jewish identity of children of Jewish immigrants in the US during a period of rapid assimilation.
In real-time, the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office described an incident that began with a confrontation and ended in gunfire. Hewett was found at his home while intoxicated and was arrested, and many weapons were seized during a search of his property. He was charged, among other things, with weapons offenses and terrorizing.
However, court documents were revealed following the summer camp management's request for a protection order against the neighbor Hewett, including an affidavit for the cause of arrest by Deputy Sheriff Tyler Johnson. According to the local site Central Maine, Johnson wrote that Hewett was suspected of using alcohol during the incident and also of "antisemitic bias." Despite this, Hewett was not charged with a hate crime.
According to the Sheriff's Office, shell casings found in the area raised the possibility that some of the bullets were fired toward the basketball court at the back of the camp. Security personnel put the camp into lockdown, wore protective vests, and armed themselves to protect the hundreds of children.
Following the incident, authorities seized 23 weapons from Hewett's property, many of them semi-automatic. He was initially held on a $50,000 bail but has since been released. The conditions of his release prohibit him from possessing dangerous weapons, consuming alcohol, and approaching within 1,000 feet of the camp grounds and the location from which it is alleged he carried out the shooting.
The camp management claims that the incident does not stand alone. The camp director and owner, Pascal Cohen, claimed in the request for a protection order against harassment that for a long period, Hewett has been harassing the camp, including through vehicle lights, fireworks at night, and shooting near the camp grounds.
