Man charged with hate crime for shooting up Utah synagogue

A 21-year-old Utah man was indicted on federal hate crimes charges for firing shots at a Salt Lake City synagogue last year.

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(JTA) — A 21-year-old Utah man was indicted on federal hate crimes charges for firing shots at a Salt Lake City synagogue last year.

Macon Michael Openshaw of Salt Lake City was charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court there for allegedly firing several rounds from a handgun, breaking windows and damaging a window frame at the Kol Ami synagogue sometime between January and April 2012, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

A search of Openshaw’s home revealed the Walther .22 caliber handgun, according to the newspaper, as well as a sawed-off SKS automatic rifle.

In 2011, Openshaw pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of a deadly weapon. The following year he pleaded guilty to assaulting his 65-year-old grandmother.

 

 

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